The depletion of the Kakhovka Reservoir as a result of the dam breach caused by Russia could exacerbate the trend of desertification in southern Ukraine.
This was reported by Vladyslav Dudar, an officer of the Main Department of Civil Defense and Environmental Safety of the Ministry of Defense, during a briefing on September 5th.
“There are negative forecasts indicating an increase in the aridization (desertification) process in the Kherson region. Most specialists do not believe it will turn into a desert because there is sufficient rainfall in the region”, he said.
According to the officer’s statement, future land drainage could affect the food system. He mentioned that the average annual precipitation in the Kherson region is 400 mm, which exceeds the figures typical for deserts, such as in Spain, where an average of 200 mm of rainfall occurs per year.
However, the lack of a consistent water supply, previously provided by the reservoir, will negatively impact the ecology of the southern region, according to Dudar.
Recall that the chairman of the Kherson Regional Council, Oleksandr Samoylenko, noted that after the explosion at the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Station, the epidemiological situation on the left bank of the Dnipro River is not under control.
Photo: BMG_Borusse/Depositphotos
