Turkey’s fifth-largest lake faces drought threat

KONYA

Lake Akşehir, a tectonic freshwater endorheic lake in Turkey’s southwestern province of Konya, has almost dried up due to years of low rainfall and misusage of its water for agricultural purposes.

The 54-square-kilometer lake considerably shrank this year, with a swamp and reeds taking over its coast, along with weeds outgrowing on the shores.

Global climate change, along with excessive drainage of water for irrigation purposes, is blamed for reducing water levels in Turkey’s once fifth-largest lake.

Speaking to Demirören News Agency, Tahir Nalbantçılar, an academic from Konya Technical University, stated that there was a cracked soil layer in the middle of the lake, which was once five meters deep.

The expert pointed out global warming as one of the main reasons for the drying up of the lake but also said that climate change was not the only cause, implying agricultural activities in the region.

“It is obvious that ponds built for irrigation purposes, embankments built in front of important streams, and some structures built to support agricultural activities also dry up the capillaries that feed this lake,” the academic noted.

“If we do not change our current water use system, we need to think that this lake is saying goodbye to us from now on,” he added.