Before and after: Blogger shares frightening footage of Caspian Sea shrinking

Tengrinews.kz - A travel blogger from Aktau showed how the Caspian Sea has changed in 10 years. The footage shows that the water has receded a considerable distance from the shore.

As the video’s author Nurken Tazhibay explained, the footage captures the coastline near the Aktau resort "Shagala." In the 10-year-old footage, a pier can be seen. In the current footage, the pier is no longer there, and where it once stood, the exposed shoreline is visible.

"I was born in Aktau, I am now 40 years old. I remember this place from my childhood. It was a warm sandy beach. As children, we jumped into the water from this pier. In the summer, my friends and I often spent time on this beach. Now the sea has receded more than 100 meters from the shore. And absolutely no one swims there, there is no beach," says Nurken.

According to the blogger, the residents of Aktau are concerned about the current state of the Caspian Sea.

"They have been shouting about this for a long time. They tell us that the Caspian Sea is breathing, that the water will return, but this is unlikely. There are many factors that say the opposite, that the sea will not return. Of course, this worries us. I am afraid that the Caspian Sea will repeat the history of the Aral Sea. As you understand, if the sea disappears, an ecological catastrophe is possible. The city will die out completely if there is no sea," Nurken Tazhibay shared his concerns.

Earlier, the Caspian Sea coast near the 1st microdistrict in Aktau turned red. Local residents sounded the alarm, but environmentalists reassured Aktau residents.