A child plays inside a rusted dilapidated car along the dried-up Aral Sea, in the village of Tastubek near Aralsk, Kazakhstan, Monday, July 2, 2023. A child plays inside a rusted dilapidated car along the dried-up Aral Sea, in the village of Tastubek near Aralsk, Kazakhstan, Monday, July 2, 2023. A child plays inside a rusted dilapidated car along the dried-up Aral Sea, in the village of Tastubek near Aralsk, Kazakhstan, Monday, July 2, 2023.
Streets may be empty during hot, sunny days. But as the sun sets, they fill with children playing soccer, teenagers making videos for social media and old men playing cards. Techno music and the lights of carnival games flash through the night during local festivals.Climate change is fueling the disappearance of the Aral Sea. It’s taking residents’ livelihoods, tooReminders of the once-mighty Aral linger. Old fishing nets and buoys rot in backyards.
A woman serves beer to customers in her house, which she uses as a shop, in a village far outside of Muynak, Uzbekistan, Saturday, June 24, 2023. A girl plays on a worn-out boat along the dried-up Aral Sea, in the village of Tastubek near Aralsk, Kazakhstan, Monday, July 2, 2023.