Draining of Kakhovka Reservoir may lead to desertification of southern Ukraine
The draining of the Kakhovka Reservoir as a result of the Russian Federation blowing up the hydroelectric dam may exacerbate the trend towards desertification in the south of Ukraine.
The drainage of the territories will affect the food system in the future, Vladyslav Dudar, an officer of the Environmental Safety and Demining Department of the Ministry of Defence, said during the briefing Three Months Since the Occupiers Destroyed the Dam of the Kakhovka HPP on 5 September.
As Dudar says, the average annual precipitation in Kherson Oblast is 400 mm. This exceeds the indicators characteristic of deserts, in particular, in Spain, where an average of 200 mm of precipitation falls per year.
However, the lack of a sustainable water supply, which was provided by the reservoir, will negatively affect the ecology of the south, says Dudar.
"There are negative forecasts that indicate an increase in the process of aridisation (desertification) of Kherson Oblast. Most specialists are not inclined to believe that it will become a desert because there is enough precipitation in the region," added the officer from the Mine Action and Environmental Safety Department of the Ministry of Defence
Earlier, the Ministry of Health reported that outbreaks of cholera after the Russian terrorist attack at the Kakhovka HPP had been avoided.
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