The Dead Sea Is Shrinking Rapidly

The famous buoyancy of the Dead Sea, which allows swimmers to float effortlessly, is a direct result of its extreme salt and mineral concentration. This hypersalinity exists because the sea is a landlocked basin in an arid region; water flows in, primarily from the Jordan River, but can only leave through evaporation, leaving the salts behind. For millennia, this system was in relative balance. However, in recent decades, the countries in the region have increasingly diverted water from the Jordan River for agriculture and drinking water, drastically reducing the primary inflow to the Dead Sea and disrupting this delicate equilibrium.

This human-caused water deficit is compounded by industrial mineral extraction. Companies operate vast evaporation ponds in the sea's southern basin, accelerating water loss to harvest valuable potash and magnesium salts used in fertilizers and other products. The consequences of the dropping water level are stark and dangerous. As the shoreline recedes, it leaves behind unstable, salt-encrusted mudflats. More alarmingly, freshwater aquifers that were once held back by the sea's pressure now flow towards it underground, dissolving subterranean salt deposits and causing the ground to collapse into thousands of hazardous sinkholes along the coast.