Since the early 1960s, shrinkage of the once huge body of water, which lies on the border between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, completely altered the local climate and the livelihoods of as many as 1 million people. Most fish were wiped out by the lake's increasing salination and the buildup pesticides seeping down from surrounding cotton fields. Fishing communities packed up and moved away.
Health problems abound that many attribute to wind-borne chemicals.
An estimated 75 million tons of salts and toxic dusts have been spread across Central Asia, according to France-based medical aid group Doctors Without Borders. But a note of promise is on the horizon. Since 1987, the contraction of the Aral Sea has created two lakes. The larger one grows drier by the year and appears to be beyond saving. But the smaller, northern lake may be salvageable according to local and international experts.