After decades of drying, one of the world's largest lakes is on the rise, a welcomed development for the region that relies upon it.
Iran's Lake Urmia, the largest lake in the Middle East and the world's sixth-largest salt lake, saw its volume increase by 248 million cubic yards year-over-year, according to the Tehran Times. Its surface area also grew by roughly 60 square miles.
A population surge in the 1980s led to agricultural growth throughout Iran. The increased water usage required by farming took its toll on Lake Urmia, which started receding in the mid-1990s. Combined with higher drought-like conditions caused by the overheating planet, by 2015, the lake was 10% of its previous surface area and 5% of its highest volume.
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All the time 😎 Restoration efforts in the years since have paid off, bringing a thriving ecosystem back to life. The area is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, a haven for birds such as flamingos and pelicans.
When the lake is dried up, windy conditions create high levels of dust, which studies have shown to cause respiratory health problems in the local population. But as the lake comes back, not only are people healthier, but so are the businesses that rely upon it.
"People see things happening," one local resident told the BBC. "They think, maybe there is some hope now."
A recent story out of Chile provides a glimpse of what could come, should this Lake Urmia revival continue. Massive rainfall brought many dried-up lakes and lagoons back to life. As water levels rose, so did the local economy and spirits.
But there still is work to do in Lake Urmia. Even with the recent increase, the lake's volume is at roughly 1.6 billion cubic yards — a far cry from the 6.5 billion cubic yards experts say is needed for the lake to be ecologically stable. Fortunately, a United Nations restoration project is expected to run through 2028, according to the Tehran Times.
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