| Aralkum Desert | |
|---|---|
 Aralkum with the remaining areas of the Aral Sea in 2021 | |
 Animated map of the shrinking of the Aral Sea, and growing Aralkum | |
| Geography | |
| Countries |
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| Coordinates | 45°0′N60°30′E / 45.000°N 60.500°E /45.000; 60.500 |
TheAralkum Desert (Uzbek: Orolqum choʻli, Оролқум чўли,Kazakh: Аралқұм шөлі,Russian: Пустыня Аралкум) is adesert that has appeared since 1960 on the seabed once occupied by theAral Sea.[1] It lies to the south and east of what remains of the Eastern Basin Aral Sea inUzbekistan andKazakhstan. It is currently the youngest desert in the world.[2]
While the level of the Aral Sea has fluctuated over its existence, the most recent level drop since the 1960s[3] was caused by theSoviet Union building massive irrigation projects in the region. The severely reduced inflow caused the water level in the Aral Sea to drop. While theNorth Aral Sea rose due to theDike Kokaral, theSouth Aral Sea kept dropping, thus expanding the size of the desert, until 2010, when the South Aral Sea was partly reflooded. The water level of the South Aral Sea then began to drop again, this time more severely.[citation needed]
In August 2021, British polar athleteRosie Stancer led the first expedition on foot across the Aralkum desert.[4]
Before itsdesertification, theAral Sea sustained a large fishing industry that provided up to one-sixth of the Soviet Union's fish.[5] As the water receded, many fishing vessels and other boats were left behind in the desert. In the former port of the city ofMoʻynoq, rusting vessels have become a tourist attraction and the site of the Stihia Festival, Central Asia's largest electronic music festival.[5]
The sands of the Aralkum and the dust that originates from it contain pollutants.[6] The desert's location is on a powerful west–east airstream that carries its polluted dust around the globe. Aral dust has been found in the fields ofBelarus, the forests ofNorway, and in the glaciers ofGreenland.[7] Pesticides in the dust have been found in the blood of penguins inAntarctica.[8]
Salt, sand, and dust from exposed Aral Sea mud beds blow across the region, harming people and crops. The excessive use of pesticides and fertilizers from farms has poisoned food and drinking water. The human cost of the crisis has been high in the Aral Sea area. For instance, infant mortality rates have consistently been the highest in the former Soviet Union
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) "...typical Aral dust has been found on Greenland's glaciers, in Norway's forests, and Byelorussia's fields, all situated thousands of kilometers away from Central Asia."... The effect of pollution is aggravated by the fact that the Aral Sea is situated on the "highway" where strong currents of air are blowing from the west to the east. ... That is why pesticides from the Aral region are found in the blood of penguins living in the Antarctic continent.
