Caption:
The imposing structure in the background,“Tal,” was once used to repair ships in the water.Heavy, torrential rains at the end of 2018 and 2019 ensured that the water level in the lake filled up again a little. The imposing structure in the background, “Tal,” was once used to repair ships in the water was surrounded with salt, now has some streams of water around it. Iran's Lake Urmia was once the second-largest saltwater lake in the world, covering more than 2,000 square miles at its deepest in the 1990s. In the past two decades, the lake has dried out, shrinking at times to less than 20% of its average size. It's not a story of climate change, though that certainly contributed. Iran's Lake Urmia was once the second-largest saltwater lake in the world, covering more than 2,000 square miles at its deepest in the 1990s. In the past two decades, the lake has dried out, shrinking at times to less than 20% of its average size. It's not a story of climate change, though that certainly contributed.