Alarm is growing in Kyrgyzstan over the future of Lake Issyk-Kul, as scientists warn that the country’s iconic alpine lake is rapidly shrinking and losing its natural ability to cleanse itself.

Environmentalists, researchers and local residents say the “pearl of Kyrgyzstan” could eventually turn into a polluted swamp filled with algae and garbage if urgent action is not taken, The Caspian Post reports via 24.kg.

Experts point to several ecological threats facing Issyk-Kul, with falling water levels emerging as the most serious concern.

Rysbek Satylkanov, head of the Tien Shan International Scientific Center under Kyrgyzstan’s National Academy of Sciences, said that the lake has dropped by 14 meters over the past 170 years.

Speaking at a Sustainable Development Council meeting in the Jogorku Kenesh (parliament), Satylkanov presented alarming monitoring data and outlined possible measures to save the lake.

He stressed that Issyk-Kul cannot be viewed separately from the rivers, glaciers, forests and pastures surrounding it, calling the basin a “closed interconnected system.”

Historical data from the Russian Geographical Society shows that in 1849 the lake stood at 1,620 meters above sea level and was still connected to the Chu River. By 1856, when explorer Pyotr Semyonov-Tyan-Shansky visited the area, Issyk-Kul had become a closed lake with no outflow.

Today, its spring water level is around 1,606 meters above sea level.

Monitoring conducted since 2008 by Kyrgyz scientists together with France’s LEGOS laboratory in Toulouse reveals an accelerating decline:

From 2011 to 2025, the lake level fell by 91 centimeters, averaging 6.5 centimeters per year.

Between 2020 and 2025, the decline accelerated to 7.4 centimeters annually.

Scientists say the shrinking lake is already disrupting the region’s natural water cycle. Since 1854, Issyk-Kul’s surface area has decreased from 6,800 to 6,200 square kilometers, reducing evaporation and rainfall in nearby mountain and forest zones.

Researchers estimate that around 40 percent of local precipitation is generated by moisture evaporating from the lake itself.

Experts attribute the crisis to several factors, including:

The loss of water inflow from the Chu River

Rising evaporation caused by global warming

Large-scale water extraction from rivers feeding the lake for irrigation

Bolot Moldobekov, co-director of the Central Asian Institute for Applied Geosciences, said the lake reached its lowest modern level in 1998. Although water levels are currently slightly higher, the downward trend continues.

He added that nearby Lake Chatyr-Kul has seen only a minor decline of about three centimeters, suggesting that human activity - not just climate change - is playing a major role in Issyk-Kul’s shrinking water levels.