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hazardous substances such as DDT, benzene hexachlonde (BHC) have been found in water
samples.
The most visible damage has been to the Aral Sea, which as recently as the 1970s was larger
than any of the Great Lakes of North America save Lake Superior. The sea began to shrink rapidly
when sharply increased irrigation and other demands on the only significant tributaries, the
Syrdariya and the Amu Darya (the latter reaching the Aral from neighboring Uzbekistan), all but
eliminated inflow.
By 1993 the Aral Sea had lost an estimated 60 percent of its volume, in the process breaking
into three unconnected segments. Increasing salinity and reduced habitat have killed the Aral Sea's
fish, hence destroying its once-active fishing industry, and the receding shoreline has left the
former port of Aral'sk more than sixty kilometers from the water's edge. The depletion of this large
body of water has increased temperature variations in the region, which in turn have had an impact
on agriculture. *A much greater agricultural impact, however, has come from the salt- and
pesticide-laden soil that the wind is known to carry as far away as the Himalaya Mountains and
the Pacific Ocean. Deposition of this heavily saline soil on nearby fields effectively sterilizes them.
Evidence suggests that salts, pesticides, and residues of chemical fertilizers are also adversely
affecting human life
around the former Aral Sea; infant mortality in the region approaches 10
percent, compared with the 1991 national rate of 2.7 percent.
Result
The water level of the Caspian Sea has been rising steadily since 1978 for reasons that
scientists have not been able to explain fully. At the northern end of the sea, more than a million
hectares of land in Atyrau Province have been flooded. Experts estimate that if current rates of
increase persist, the coastal city of Atyrau, eighty-eight other population centers, and many of
Kazakhstan's Caspian oil fields could be submerged by 2020.there are some common water that
we have like Amo river , the user includes Tagikstan ,Torkmanstan,Ozbekstan, Kazakhastan,
Afghanstan has 5 basin and Amo river
is one of our blue basins ,Environmental and water
pollution in Afghanstan relatively us Kazakhstan ,despite our pollution is low but now increasing,
for that Afghanistan's Water Resources and Pollution.
The mountains of Afghanistan have always served as a natural storage facility and source of
water. In fact, more than 80% of Afghanistan's water resources originate in the Hindu Kush
Mountains. The snow accumulates in the winter, and melts in the spring. This, along with the
melting of the glaciers in the summer feed important rivers like the Amu Darya. The Amu Darya
basin alone holds more than 55% of Afghanistan's water resources.Unfortunately, drought and
warming of air temperatures have reduced the size of the glaciers in Afghanistan. Major glaciers
in the Pamir and Hindu Kush have considerably shrunk, while smaller
ones have been reported to
have completely vanished. A severe drought in 2001 further prevented the feeding of the Sistan
wetlands by the Helmand river, and unfortunately by 2003, satellite images showed that 99% of
the Sistan wetlands were dried up. As a result, much of the Sistan basin's natural vegetation has
died, and an increase in soil erosion has occurred, as well as the spread of sand on to roads, fields
and settlements. Waterfowl were also severely affected as the Sistan wetlands were very important
to the birds. In the mid 1970s, there were close to 150 different species of waterfowl that were
identified in the area, few to none remain today.
Nationwide, the majority of Afghan households do not have access to safe drinking water.
Because of unsafe sanitary facilities, water contamination is a major issue in Afghanistan. Many
water sources are contaminated with harmful bacteria such as E. Coli which sickens and kills many
people, especially children and the elderly. Valuable water resources are polluted as a result of the
disposal of industrial and domestic liquid wastes. It's common for household discharge and street
waste to end up in streams. Moreover, in some bodies of water, the amount of hazardous chemicals
fail hygienic standards. Even in the capital of Kabul, there are places where the water quality is so
poor that it is unsafe for consumption. A Water Law has been developed and will hopefully address
the pollution, and water quality standards, however, it is only in a
draft form and still in the
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legislative pipeline. The government must put together a plan to ensure safe drinking water for its
citizens, as well as assess and develop adaptation plans for the impacts of climate change on
Afghanistan's water resources.
The reduction and loss of Afghanistan's glaciers, drought, war related damage to the
irrigation systems it does have, poor management, waste, pollution, and the fact that over 80% of
Afghans are engaged in agriculture and livestock-raising, makes tund in the.
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