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Baikal waters start rising after dropping record low

The water level in Baikal was 455.74 meters on May 16, which is below the minimal mark of 456 meters

© Vladimir Smirnov/TASS

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World's deepest lake Baikal shrinking

ULAN UDE, May 18 /TASS/. The waters in Lake Baikal have started rising after falling to record low (455.71 meters) in the first days of May.

The water level in Baikal was 455.74 meters on May 16, which is below the minimal mark of 456 meters. "This year the water level fell by 29 centimeters, which is 15 centimeters more than last year," the Federal Agency for Water Resources reported on its website.

"The current rise in water levels has been caused by affluent waters in the Selenga River, Baikal’s main tributary," a source at Buryatia’s territorial department for water resources explained.

According to scientists, the problem of shallowness of Baikal waters began in autumn 2014. They believe that a complicated hydrological situation in the lake’s basin is its main cause.

The Russian government has adopted a new project aimed at increasing the water levels in Baikal.

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