© earthobservatory.nasa.gov
A drought of epic proportions at Lake Urmia has brought the Iranian UNESCO site to the brink of disappearing off the face of the Earth, and is turning its once blue waters blood-red.
While once Urmia spanned an area five times larger than Hong Kong, its volume has decreased dramatically since 1972.
A study by hydrology experts at the University of California in 2014 painted the picture of a dying natural resource, highlighting how desiccation, or drying, had reduced the 5,000 sq km (1,930 sq mile) lake by almost
90 percent.
Its catastrophic demise has been compared to the loss of the
Aral Sea, where poor irrigation and farming practices contributed to it drying up almost completely.
Scientists working with NASA's
Earth Observatoryhave explained that as water levels drop during the hot summer months, microscopic algae and bacteria become more apparent, causing the unusual hue.
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