Gaining water bodies by climate change benefits water crisis mitigation in central Asia

Central Asia (CA) faces a severe water crisis exemplified by the shrinking Aral Sea. However, little is known about the entire region, particularly the numerous small water bodies that are vulnerable to climate change yet vital for regional sustainability. We examined water bodies as small as 0.0045 km<sup>2</sup> across CA from 1992 to 2020, identifying 66,215 water bodies in 2020, 82.2% of which were previously unstudied. In contrast to the well-documented decline of the Aral Sea, other water bodies have expanded by 10.7% (8714.3 km<sup>2</sup>), with a net gain of 15,831 lakes since 1992. These findings challenge the perception of a drying CA and provide evidence of a warm-wet climate trend, which is redistributing water resources and creating opportunities for transforming water management to address the long-standing water crisis in CA.

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Publication Details

Journal
Science Bulletin
Published
2025-04-02
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scib.2025.03.053
Citations
5
Primary Topic
Hydrology and Watershed Management Studies
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
4.09
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article

Gaining water bodies by climate change benefits water crisis mitigation in central Asia

Yongwei Sheng, Fahu Chen, Yijie Sui, Xianghong Che et al.
5 citations
Science Bulletin
Hydrology and Watershed Management Studies
4.09
article

Gaining water bodies by climate change benefits water crisis mitigation in central Asia

Yongwei Sheng, Fahu Chen, Yijie Sui, Xianghong Che, Min Feng, Shengqian Chen, Tingting Xie, Jinhao Xu, Yanan Su, Xin Li, Jianhui Chen
article en
5 citations

Abstract

Central Asia (CA) faces a severe water crisis exemplified by the shrinking Aral Sea. However, little is known about the entire region, particularly the numerous small water bodies that are vulnerable to climate change yet vital for regional sustainability. We examined water bodies as small as 0.0045 km<sup>2</sup> across CA from 1992 to 2020, identifying 66,215 water bodies in 2020, 82.2% of which were previously unstudied. In contrast to the well-documented decline of the Aral Sea, other water bodies have expanded by 10.7% (8714.3 km<sup>2</sup>), with a net gain of 15,831 lakes since 1992. These findings challenge the perception of a drying CA and provide evidence of a warm-wet climate trend, which is redistributing water resources and creating opportunities for transforming water management to address the long-standing water crisis in CA.

Science BulletinVol. 70(14)
University of California, Los Angeles (US), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN), Tarim University (CN), Chinese Academy of Surveying and Mapping (CN), Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research (CN), Lanzhou University (CN)
Climate action
Openalex Percentile: Top 7%
Hydrology and Watershed Management Studies
4.09
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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Gaining water bodies by climate change benefits water crisis mitigation in central Asia — Yongwei Sheng, Fahu Chen, et al. · Science Bulletin (2025) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS