DEAD SEA DRYING FASTER

Dead Sea is drying faster and faster. It is caused mainly by the increased water consumption in the upstream of Jordan River and also by industries that vaporize the sea’s water to gain valuable minerals. Israel and Jordan might soon lose one of their most popular tourism attractions – the Dead Sea. The salty lake is world known as the lowest point on earth and one of the saltiest water bodies in the world. The water of the Dead Sea, or Salt Sea, is used as a source of various minerals. It is also widely used in the cosmetic industry. Due to the numerous healing effects of the water, minerals, and the local climate, around the lake there can be found several spa resorts offering treatment especially for skin diseases. However, as the local experts have been warning for some time the lake is gradually disappearing. It has been drying up for years but the pace of the process has speeded up recently. According to the Israeli Water Authority the level of water in the lake has decreased by 138 cm last year, which is quite a change because since 1998 the sea was dropping on average by 98 centimeters per year.  It is not the global warming or the change of climate that causes the Dead Sea to dry out. It is the human activity that is the source of all the trouble. The major water source for the Dead Sea is the river Jordan. Today however people use much more water in the upstream of the river than they did before. Therefore, less water comes to the lake. Several industries also vaporize the Dead Sea water to gain minerals.The dropping water levels pose a serious threat to roads, bridges and other infrastructure. The negative effect on tourism is also quite obvious. There are for example restaurants that were once on the shore of the Dead Sea but nowadays they are more than a kilometer off the lake. Related:JORDAN CAPITALIZING ON ITS ECO RICHES The Magic of the Dead Sea