Snow Across Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan

Snow Across Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Snow andice almost completely cover the Aral Sea in this true-color image taken by the ModerateResolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument aboard the Aqua satellite. The Aral Sea sits on the border between Kazakhstan (north) andUzbekistan (south), and has been slowly drying up because agricultural activities in the fertile plains around the lake have appropriated almost all of the water from its two rivers – the Syrdar’ya in the northeastand the Anudar’ya in the south.

Visible at image bottom are Turkmenistan and the Sarykamyskoye Ozero, the lake that Turkmenistan shares with Uzbekistan. This image was acquired on January 25, 2003. Uzbekistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia. The sovereign state is a secular, unitary constitutional republic, comprising 12 provinces, one autonomous republic, and a capital city. Also Snow Across Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan is common during this time of winter and storm season. Therefore the massive amounts of snow and wind hit hard.

Uzbekistan is bordered by five landlocked countries: Kazakhstan to the north; Kyrgyzstan to the northeast; Tajikistan to the southeast; Afghanistan to the south; and Turkmenistan to the southwest. Along with Liechtenstein, it is one of the world’s only two doubly landlocked countries.

Credit: Jacques Descloitres, MODISRapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC