Buryatia ministry put on alert over shallow Baikal
MOSCOW. Feb 10 (Interfax) - The Emergency Situations Ministry of the Republic of Buryatia has been put on alert over shallow waters in Lake Baikal, the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry has reported.
"Lake Baikal and dam lakes of the Angara hydropower cascade have been affected by low water levels. Forces and means of the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry departments in the Irkutsk region and Buryatia have been put on alert," the report said.
The Buryatia Natural Resources and Ecology Ministry said earlier that Baikal water problems had affected 681 people in eleven populated localities of Buryatia.
The survey was conducted in 39 populated areas in the Pribaikalsky, Kabansky and Barguzinsky districts from January 28 till February 4.
Specialists explained a drop in subsoil water levels by low precipitation, shallow bogs and small rivers and, in the areas along Lake Baikal and the River Selenga delta, by low levels of water in Lake Baikal.
The Buryatia Natural Resources and Ecology Ministry said that the water inflow in Lake Baikal amounted to two-thirds of the regular inflow in 2014. Water levels fell another 48 centimeters from October till January and hit the minimum mark of 456.06 meters on February 2, 2015.
