What condition is Sarez Lake in now and how scientists conduct continuous observation of the “sleeping dragon” was explained by a Tajik scholar.
Tajik specialists keep Sarez Lake under constant surveillance due to geological hazards.
Sattor Saidov, head of Tajikistan’s Center for Climate Change and Ozone Layer Studies, shared this with Sputnik Tajikistan.
He recalled that in recent years, projects have been introduced to modernize monitoring and early warning systems (EWS). International and domestic experts installed sensors, communication links, and alerting systems to safeguard villages situated along the Murghab and Bartang riverbanks.
“Periodic aerial surveys, satellite scrutiny, and field inspections are carried out. Current reports indicate that efforts are underway to update the monitoring and warning mechanisms in collaboration with international collaborators,” Saidov clarified.
Sarez Lake is located in the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region, Murghab District, at an elevation exceeding 3.2 thousand meters above sea level. Official figures show it spans about 70 km in width and is nearly 500 meters deep, with a water volume of 17 cubic km.
Sarez Lake is a major concern for the nations of Central Asia, Afghanistan, and even Iran. For over 120 years, it has been termed the “Sleeping Beauty” for its magnificence and the “Sleeping Dragon” due to the risk it poses.
This landslide lake formed following the devastating 1911 earthquake, which dammed the Bartang River. The lake area is subject to considerable seismic activity and thus demands close attention.
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In the event of a breach of the Usoy landslide dam and a massive flood from Sarez Lake, a considerable territory of Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, and Iran would be washed away and destroyed. Specifically, the villages, water bodies, and farmlands along the Amu Darya banks would suffer from the might of the “Sleeping Dragon.”
Even in the USSR, the question of constructing a hydroelectric power station on the Usoy landslide dam was explored. However, building the HPP proved impossible due to implementation complexity.
Sarez Lake is subject to round-the-clock observation. Specialists from the Committee of Emergency Situations monitor the sensors, tracking any shifts in the water body.
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