Lake Tuz, located in central Anatolia and known as the second-largest lake of Turkey, may no longer deserve that title as it has shrunk by 85 percent over the last 90 years due to global warming, drought and the over usage of its water for irrigation purposes.
Studies of satellite images by Aksaray University’s Department of Engineering, Geodesy and Photogrammetry Engineering have shown that Lake Tuz covered 216,400 hectares in 1915. Since then, it has shrunk at an alarming rate, decreasing to 92,600 hectares in 1987, and to 32,600 hectares in 2005.
Scientists say that drought, the over usage of water in the lake basin for irrigation and global warming have led to the loss of water in the lake. They are calling for urgent and radical measures to protect Lake Tuz, predicting that if the necessary measures are not taken, the lake will no longer exist by 2015.