Can the Aral Sea be reborn?

A generation ago, the vanishing of the Aral Sea became global shorthand for environmental desolation. Today the region has become a test bed for a resilient future. This article originally ran in the May, 2026 issue of National Geographic. It was the first human-made ecological disaster of the modern era. In 1960, the Aral Sea Continue reading Can the Aral Sea be reborn?