Dead Sea
A general view shows part of the Dead Sea in Jordan, November 5, 2016.Reuters

The Dead Sea, which is titled as the most natural wonder on this planet is dying an inevitable death. The sea is likely to dry up completely.

Located in the Jordan Rift valley, the Dead Sea is one of the saltiest water bodies on Earth that is drying up at a swift pace.

The Black Sea has been a tourist-attracting spot, thanks to its mud which has an amazing ability to heal disorders linked to skin, lungs and heart and its saline water for fun-filled and effortless floating.

This saline lake exists on the lowest underwater point on the Earth, which is 1,407 ft below the sea level. There is no marine life in this water body due to its excess salt content.

The main cause behind the drying up of this hyper-saline lake is not linked to any climate changes, it is an outcome of man-made disaster.

An environmentalist group called EcoPeace Middle East stated that: "The proposed building of hotels along the central shorelines of the Dead Sea pose(s) a severe threat to the natural and cultural resources of this ecologically sensitive area."

Various other human activities that led to terrible condition of the Dead Sea, which this environmental group listed are:

  • Non-sustainable tourism
  • Mineral extraction
  • Construction and development works in and around the region

EcoPeace Middle East briefly explained: "Far and away the biggest cause of the rapid disappearance of the Dead Sea is the lack of water coming into it from its traditional sources: the Jordan River and various side wadis (tributaries). Construction of dams, storage reservoirs, and pipelines has greatly reduced water inflows to the Dead Sea. While much of this water is being used by the Israelis, Jordanians, and Palestinians for basic domestic consumption, most goes towards highly subsidised and inefficient agriculture."

A depletion of around 60 ft of shoreline by 2020 was forecast by this environmental group if the present condition of the lake prevails. It was also revealed that around 2,000 cavities in the ground called 'sink holes', originating at the lake's western shores. These sink holes provide a route to the surface water to escape underground.

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