The Dead Sea Is Disappearing

The lowest point on Earth's surface is, in fact, getting lower every year. The Dead Sea is a terminal lake, meaning water flows into it but does not flow out, with evaporation being the only natural escape. For millennia, this unique body of water maintained a delicate equilibrium, with the inflow from the Jordan River largely balancing the intense evaporation. However, in recent decades, surrounding nations have diverted a vast majority of the Jordan River's flow for critical agricultural and municipal needs. This has starved the Dead Sea of its primary water source, transforming the once-mighty river into a relative trickle and disrupting a balance that has existed for thousands of years.

The consequences of this shrinking (Review) are both dramatic and dangerous. As the hypersaline water recedes, it leaves behind vast, unstable mudflats, stranding former seaside resorts and infrastructure far from the new shoreline. More alarmingly, the retreating water level exposes underground salt layers to freshwater from aquifers. This freshwater dissolves the subterranean salt, creating massive, unstable caverns that can collapse without warning. These resulting sinkholes, some the size of multi-story buildings, have swallowed roads, date palm plantations, and parts of buildings, scarring the landscape and posing a constant threat to the region's remaining industry and tourism.