The level of the Dead Sea is falling by a massive 1.2 meters per year according to the latest annual report of Israel's environment by the Ministry of Environmental Protection. The report notes that the level of the Dead Sea has fallen by 30 meters over the past 40 years and that the rate that it is receding is accelerating from 0.7 meters per year in the 1970s and 1980s to 1.2 meters per year currently.
The Dead Sea won't disappear," says Ministry of Environmental Protection chief scientist Dr. Sinaia Netanyahu, "because it is very deep but we already see the expanding phenomenon of sinkholes. As of 2015, there were 5,500 such sinkholes. They are reducing access to the Dead Sea and are dangerous."
Pumping water from the Dead Sea for factories and evaporation and diverting water that naturally flows into the Dead Sea have all contributed to the speeding up of the fall in the level. The Deganya and Alumot dams have completely dried up the flow from the River Jordan.
With the fall in the level, the Dead Sea actually split into two separate lakes back in 1979. The southern section serves as pools for potash plants in Israel and Jordan.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on February 13, 2018
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