Ibrahim Koc, a shepherd, remembers his youth with a smile as he looks after cattle near Turkey’s biggest lake. But now, there are only a few shrubs left, showing where Lake Van used to be. It’s because the world is getting hotter, and there’s less rain.
“The animals are thirsty,” says Ibrahim sadly. He’s not the only one worried. Many people in Turkey see their mountains losing ice and their water sources disappearing. A map of Turkey’s weather shows that a big part of the country is going through a long period without enough rain.
Because the lake is getting smaller, the land that’s usually underwater is now dusty and salty, making the air dirty to breathe. Scientists are scared that things could get even worse. “I think these are the better days,” says Faruk Alaeddinoglu, a professor at a university in Turkey.
Lake Van is really big – about as big as 2,800 football fields. It’s really deep too, like a tower of 37 giraffes! But it has become around 1.5% smaller in the last few years. “For an area this huge, that’s a lot of water gone,” says Alaeddinoglu.
In a place called Celebibagi, the lake used to reach much farther, but now it’s far away. The ground that used to be underwater has old bird bones, dry bushes, and dirty soil with minerals. “We’re walking where the lake used to be,” says Ali Kalcik, who cares about the environment.
The lake has changed in the past because the ground under it moves a lot, like when you wiggle a rug. But now, it’s mainly because the Earth is getting warmer, and there’s not enough rain. More water goes away into the air than comes back as raindrops.
People are also using too much water. They’re building new holiday houses with pretty gardens that need lots of water. Even the president built a place to rest near the lake!
The problem is so bad that farmers are being told not to grow crops that need too much water. This means some farmers can’t grow certain plants anymore. One farmer, Kinyas Gezer, can’t grow his favorite vegetables, like sugar beets. “All my hard work is for nothing,” he says sadly, looking at his small, dried-up apricots.
The lake getting smaller also shows dirty stuff in the water. Orhan Deniz, a professor at a university near the lake, says there’s gooey stuff mixed with mud that smells bad and shows how people are making the water dirty. “Back in the 1990s, we used to swim in the lake and go back to school,” says Orhan. “But now we can’t even step in the water.”
Even though the lake is still an excellent place for tourists and some locals to visit, there are problems. Dead birds are on the shore, showing that something’s wrong. Experts say the birds didn’t have enough food because the things they usually eat also left because of the dryness. So, the birds got very hungry and died.
The lake is still essential, and officials are spending a lot of money to clean it. “We’re doing our best to help the lake because it’s special to people,” says Van Governor Ozan Balci.
In a village near the shore, some people swim and have picnics. But there are dead birds nearby, showing that the lake is in trouble. “In the past, seagulls used to swim with us, but now there are so many dead ones,” says a villager. It’s sad to see and a sign that things need to change to save the lake.