Which of the following has/have shrunk immensely/dried up in the recent past due to human activities ?
- 1.Aral Sea
- 2.Black Sea
- 3.Lake Baikal
Select the correct answer using the code given below :
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Answer: A. The Aral Sea in Central Asia has shrunk drastically since the 1960s because the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers were diverted for Soviet cotton irrigation. The Black Sea and Lake Baikal have not dried up. So only 1.
Watch for: Lake Baikal is often in news for pollution, which students confuse with drying up.
Why the other options are wrong
- B. Wrong because the Black Sea and Lake Baikal have not shrunk immensely.
- C. Wrong because the Black Sea has not dried up; the Aral Sea has.
- D. Wrong because Lake Baikal, the world's deepest lake, has not dried up.
Source to check: UNEP Global Environmental Alert Service, 'The Future of the Aral Sea Lies in Transboundary Co-operation' (2014)
Answer from the official UPSC key. Written and fact-checked by AI against the official key. Spotted a mistake? Report it.