Azernews.Az

By Nigar Orujova

The Caspian Sea level is predicted to rise by up to two meters after 2020, acting director of the Institute of Geography of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences (ANAS) Ramiz Mammadov said on October 3.

According to Mammadov, currently there are no critical changes in the Caspian Sea level.

"The Caspian Sea level is decreasing. In particular, it has gone down by 15-20 centimeters. Specialists call it a period of stabilization as the lowering of the sea level by 15 to 20 and even 30 centimeters will not cause any economic or social damage," he said.

Mammadov stressed that the Caspian Sea level has relatively stabilized since 1995. This period will last until 2020.

"There is an assumption that after 2020 the sea level will rise by up to two meters," he said. "But we are not 100 percent sure."

Mammadov also expressed his views regarding the projections on a rise in the sea level.

"Temporary shoreline changes are connected to the winds. If the wind is blowing from the sea, it drives the water onto the shore and vice versa. This process cannot be called a change in the sea level," he said.

The sea level is measured in those places where external factors cannot influence it, for example, closed bays, Mammadov said.

The resource-rich basin of the Caspian has been in the spotlight of the coastal nations -- Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkmenistan and Iran.

The littoral states still cannot decide the basin's legal status. The unresolved status issue causes many problems, the most significant of which is increased pollution. Oil production and refining has adversely affected the environmental condition of the sea.