ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Aral Sea

Hey there kiddo, have you ever heard of the Aral Sea? It's a really interesting thing that used to be a big lake in Central Asia, but now it's not so big anymore.

You see, the Aral Sea used to be fed by two big rivers that flowed into it from the surrounding land. People who lived nearby would fish there and even use the water from the lake for drinking and farming.

However, as time went on, people started using more and more water from those rivers for things like irrigation and industry. There wasn't enough water left to keep the Aral Sea full, so it started slowly shrinking.

As it got smaller and smaller, the lake started getting saltier and more polluted because of all the chemicals and pesticides that people were using nearby. This made it hard for the remaining fish and other animals to survive, so the fishing industry in that area basically died out.

Nowadays, the Aral Sea is only a fraction of what it used to be, and the water that's left is really salty and polluted. It's a sad story, but it's also a powerful reminder of what can happen when we don't take good care of our environment and natural resources.
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