Utah’s Great Salt Lake is disappearing 🧂 Utah’s Great Salt Lake dropped to its lowest recorded water level last month as a megadrought persists across the US southwest, forcing the fast-growing city to curb its water use. The lake goes through seasonal cycles of water loss and replenishment after rain and snow melt fills it back up. According to officials, the water evaporation and depletion exceed the amount of water entering the lake. The lake’s water levels are expected to further decrease until autumn or early winter, when incoming water equals or exceeds the evaporative losses. The Great Salt Lake is the largest saltwater lake in the western hemisphere, and one of the most saline inland bodies of water in the world. As the lake shrinks, it becomes saltier which endangers flies and brine shrimp which millions of birds rely on for food. Declining water levels also impacts the local air quality. As the bottom of the lake dries up and more lakebed is exposed, the dry soil leads to an increase of dust in the air. The dust is laced with copper, arsenic and other dangerous heavy metals that have accumulated in the lake, much of it being residue from mining activity in the region. These can, over time, pose a public health hazard when dust storms carry them into populated areas, causing damage when inhaled and exacerbating other respiratory illnesses. Increased water demand due to the growing number population of the metropolitan Salt Lake City is another reason behind the Great Salt Lake’s desertification. Utah is the fastest-growing state in the US and is projected to increase almost 50% by 2060. 1️⃣ Great Salt Lake in 1985 2️⃣ Great Salt Lake in July 2022 3️⃣ Average aerosol concentrations near the open-areas of the lake bed from 1 June to 15 July 2022. 4️⃣ Urban expansion of Salt Lake City between 1985 to 2019. 📸 @usgs 📸 contains modified @copernicus_eu Sentinel data (2022), processed by ESA, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO 📸 contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2022), processed by ESA, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO 📸 ESA (Contains data from the @dlr.en World Settlement Footprint) #GreatSaltLake #Desertification #Utah #UnitedStates #SaltLakeCity