Lake Tuz: One of World's Most Iconic Salt Lakes in Turkey Has Dried Up

This year, one of Turkey's most famous lakes has dried up. Satellite data indicates that a whole lake has been reduced to a few puddles, and researchers believe climate change and human usage are blamed.

The destiny of Lake Tuz and the famous flamingo species that call it home-is inextricably linked to how agriculture and industrialization are clashing with the climate catastrophe. And breathtaking photographs show what's left of a critically important biological resource.

The second-largest lake in Turkey is Lake Tuz, which translates to "Salt Lake" in Turkish. It is 643 square miles (91,665 square kilometers) in size. It's a popular tourist spot that's been nominated for UNESCO World Heritage status.

The lake is also home to various plant and bird species, including the Mediterranean's largest flamingo population, which uses it as a breeding site. (Flamingos like salty water to deposit their eggs in.)

Flamingo Habitation Area

The lake was the scene of a mass fatality catastrophe for the flamingos who migrated to Lake Tuz throughout the summer.

Thousands of flaminglets, or hatchling flamingos, were photographed and captured on drone footage throughout the lake. According to the authorities, 1,000 birds perished as a result of low water levels. Only 5,000 birds hatched, according to environmentalists, compared to more than 12,000 in 2018.

Drying Up

Experts claim human usage and climate change had a part in the situation at Lake Tuz, which is suffering grave conditions like other salt lakes in the United States-Great Utah's Salt Lake plummeted to a historic low this summer.

Local agriculture's aggressive irrigation techniques have strained the lake's water supply, as farmers divert water and drill wells for water-intensive crops. In addition, summer in Turkey was scorching hot, with wildfires raging, and drought conditions had been brewing for years. All of these are symptoms of the climate catastrophe.

UNESCO bestowed special ecological safeguards on Lake Tuz in 2000, intending to keep water levels steady and protect species in the lake. In July, the country's agriculture and forestry minister declared that agriculture was not responsible for the dangerously low water levels and related flamingo fatalities.

On the other hand, environmentalists claim that ongoing farming methods, along with the drought, have caused water demand in the area to increase, outstripping supplies by 30% last year.

Lake Tuz has reduced to half its original size in the last 40 years, according to 2007 research, because of a mix of development and drought. Other lakes in Turkey are also being affected by the two-pronged impact of these events. Due to the shallow water levels, fishing boats in Lake Van, another salt lake, and Turkey's largest lake struggled and failed to reach a pier last week, according to a local television station.

Turkey Summer

This summer, Turkey has been subjected to some very disastrous climate change-related conditions. In July, the country reached an all-time high of 120.4 degrees Fahrenheit (49.1 degrees Celsius), observed in the Cizre area, southeast of Lake Tuz.

In parts of Turkey west of Lake Tuz reached over 127 degrees Fahrenheit in August (53 degrees Celsius). (Because heat dissipates more rapidly in air, ground temperatures tend to be greater than air temperatures.) During the summer, Antalya, a renowned tourist destination, routinely exceeded 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius).

This summer, wildfires ravaged the nation, as well as most of Southern Europe. Two hundred seventy wildfires broke out in 53 provinces throughout the country in late July and early August, coinciding with the scorching weather in what the administration called the worst wildfire season in history.

The flames burnt over 230,000 acres and caused dozens of villages and communities to flee, killing at least nine people. People were seen running the fire onto a beach in apocalyptic images shared on social media. (Just two weeks later, the country was hit by disastrous floods that killed at least 27 people in a rapid climatic shift.)

"On the one hand, we have rising temperatures and diminishing rain, and on the other hand, we have water demands for irrigation in agriculture," said Levent Kurnaz, a scientist at Bogazici University's Center for Climate Change and Policy Studies. "Right now, it's a dreadful scenario throughout Turkey."

A Darker Future

The disappearance of the water in Lake Tuz is simply a foreshadowing of what is to come. In the 2010s, the eastern Mediterranean had one of the worst droughts in at least 900 years. Moreover, climate estimates suggest that the country's drought will increase as the century progresses, adding to the country's water stress.

Also Read: Worsening Global Warming Will Kill 83 Million People by 2100, Warn Scientists

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Tags climate change, climate crisis, lake, Drying up