Azerbaijan raises alarm over Caspian Sea's 'catastrophic' shrinking

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🗞️ Driving the news: Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev raised concerns with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the "catastrophic" shrinking of the Caspian Sea, describing it as an emerging ecological disaster
The Caspian Sea, the world's largest inland body of water, has been losing water since the mid-1990s, with visible impacts near Baku

🔭 The context: Factors contributing to the Caspian's decline include increased evaporation due to climate change and the diversion of the Volga River’s water for irrigation
This shrinkage threatens environmental stability and key economic sectors like oil and gas

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: The shrinking of the Caspian Sea underscores the broader impacts of climate change on vital ecosystems and regional economies, highlighting the urgent need for global action to curb greenhouse gas emissions

⏭️ What's next: Azerbaijan will host the upcoming UN COP climate talks in November, where this issue may gain further attention as part of the global climate agenda

💬 One quote: "Today they have already emerged a metre above the surface." - Ilham Aliyev, President of Azerbaijan

📈 One stat: No specific statistics were provided regarding the exact rate of shrinkage

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