The decrease in the level of the Caspian Sea is accelerating.
Modern.az reports that this result is reflected in a study conducted by scientists from the Institute of Oceanology of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
According to the results of the study, the area of the water surface of the Caspian Sea decreased by 7.4 percent during 1996–2025. This means an area of approximately 28.6 thousand square kilometers, which is comparable to Albania in terms of territory.
Scientists have stated that the level of the Caspian Sea has been continuously decreasing since 1995.
According to the study, the average depth of the sea has decreased by approximately 3 meters in the last 30 years.
According to experts, the shallowing is already creating serious problems. As a result of the water receding, navigation becomes difficult, the activity of ports is limited, and the coastline is increasingly moving away from settlements.
Andrey Kostyanoy, the lead author of the study, stated that the process has not only not stopped, but has even accelerated. According to him, if the level of the Caspian Sea decreased by an average of 8.2 centimeters per year in 2005–2019, this indicator increased by approximately three times to 22.7 centimeters in 2020–2024.
According to scientists' forecasts, the level of the Caspian Sea may additionally drop by 2 meters to 21 meters by the end of the century.
