How did large-scale irrigation for cotton production contribute to the Aral Sea disaster?

The Aral Sea disaster was primarily caused by the systematic diversion of the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers, which served as the lake's main sources of inflow. Beginning in the 1960s, the Soviet Union diverted these waters to irrigate vast acreages of land in Central Asia for agricultural production, most notably for cotton.12

This large-scale irrigation project drastically reduced the volume of water reaching the sea, causing it to shrink rapidly and its salinity to rise to lethal levels. The environmental and humanitarian consequences were severe:13

• Ecological Collapse: The loss of water destroyed the local fishing industry and decimated native fish populations.13
• Toxic Pollution: As the sea receded, it exposed a seabed contaminated with salt, chemical fertilizers, and pesticides.13
• Health Crisis: Windstorms carry this toxic dust across the region, leading to high rates of respiratory illnesses, cancers, and other diseases among the local population.123
• Climate Alteration: The disappearance of such a large body of water resulted in a harsher, more extreme local climate.12