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Why has diverting Jordan River water caused the Dead Sea’s water level to fall?
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Jordan River
Portion of the Jordan Valley, a rift valley that runs north-south along the Jordan River.
The Dead Sea receives nearly all of its water from the Jordan River. Since the 1960s, the water level of the Dead Sea has fallen precipitously primarily because Israel and Jordan began diverting a significant portion of the river’s flow for irrigation and other commercial purposes.123
By reducing the volume of freshwater that reaches the lake, these diversions have disrupted the natural balance of the Dead Sea, leading to a continuous decline in its surface level—currently decreasing by about 4 feet (1.2 meters) annually. In addition to these river diversions, the increased use of the lake’s own water for industrial mineral extraction has further contributed to the drop in water levels.124