Aral, Kazakhstan
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Aral
Арал | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Seal | |
  Aral Location in Kazakhstan | |
| Coordinates:46°47′0″N61°40′0″E/ 46.78333°N 61.66667°E | |
| Country |  Kazakhstan |
| Region | Kyzylorda |
| Population (2009)[1] | |
| • Total | 29,987 |
Aral,also known asAralskorAral'sk,(Kazakh:Арал,Aral,ارال;Russian:Аральск,Araljsk)46°47′N61°40′E/ 46.783°N 61.667°Eis a small city in south-westernKazakhstan,located in theoblast(region) ofKyzylorda.It serves as the administrative center ofAral District.Aral was formerly a fishing port and harbour city on the banks of theAral Sea,and was a major supplier of fish to the neighboring region. Population: 29,987 (2009 Census results);[1]30,347 (1999 Census results).[1]
History
[edit]Early settlement
[edit]In 1817, there was a village Alty-Kuduk (Six Wells) near the present city of Aralsk. This is currently a railway passing-track in the southern part of the city. Since the 1870s, this was recorded as the Aralsky settlement. The development of Aralsk began when the Orenburg-Tashkent railway was being constructed (1899-1905). In 1905, the railway station was constructed and continues to operate. The official history of Aralsk began that same year.
In 1905, Russian merchants organized large fishing companies and formed a joint-stock firm in Aralsk. This was the beginning of fishery in the Aral Sea and shipbuilding plants soon followed in Aralsk.
After the Revolution, the station “Aralskoye more (sea)” with the adjoining settlement received the name Aralsk. In 1938, Aralsk and the Aralsky district became a part of newly formed Kzyl-Orda oblast ofKazakh SSRand turned into the town.
Aralsk is not to be confused withFort Aralskwhich was about 120 km south. In 1847Russiabuilt Raimsk, later called Fort Aralsk, near the mouth of theSyr Darya.In either 1848 or 1853 or 1855 Raimsk was abandoned and Fort Aralsk moved upriver to Fort Number One, orKazalinsk.Further upriver were forts No. 2 and 3 which were the oldKokandiforts of Karmaktschy and Kumish-Kurgan. Fort Aralsk was used to launch ships to map the Aral Sea and as a base to attackAk Mechet.[2]
Decline
[edit]Since the retreat of the Aral Sea since 1960, due to diversion of the rivers flowing into it forirrigation,mainly ofcotton,during theSoviet era,Aral is now completelylandlockedabout 12 km from thenorthern remnant of the Aral Sea,[3]though this is less than the 100 km distance observed before the completion ofa damin 2005. Aral has greatly diminished in population andsocioeconomicsignificance, resulting in high levels ofunemployment.For the last 25 years it has not been possible to see the sea from the town. There are also serious health problems for the local population caused by airborne toxic chemicals[citation needed]exposed to the wind by the retreating waters and, possibly, fromchemicalandbiological agentsunsafely stored on the island ofVozrozhdeniya.
Aral smallpox incident
[edit]In 1971, a massive public health response to a smallpox outbreak in Aral ensued once the disease was recognized as resulting from the release of weaponized smallpox from a nearbybiological weaponstest site. In less than 2 weeks, approximately 50,000 residents of Aral were vaccinated. Household quarantine of potentially exposed individuals was enacted, and hundreds were isolated in a makeshift facility at the edge of the city. All traffic in and out of the city was stopped, and approximately 54,000 square feet of living space and 18 metric tons of household goods were decontaminated by health officials. The original outbreak sickened ten people in Aral, of whom 3 died.[4]
Climate
[edit]Aral has a colddesert climate(Köppen climate classificationBWk) with cold winters and hot summers.
| Climate data for Aral (1991–2020, extremes 1905–present) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 6.3 (43.3) |
17.8 (64.0) |
29.2 (84.6) |
36.0 (96.8) |
39.9 (103.8) |
44.6 (112.3) |
44.8 (112.6) |
44.4 (111.9) |
41.0 (105.8) |
32.6 (90.7) |
24.7 (76.5) |
10.7 (51.3) |
44.8 (112.6) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −6.8 (19.8) |
−4.9 (23.2) |
5.3 (41.5) |
18.2 (64.8) |
26.5 (79.7) |
32.4 (90.3) |
34.2 (93.6) |
32.6 (90.7) |
25.2 (77.4) |
15.8 (60.4) |
4.0 (39.2) |
−4.2 (24.4) |
14.9 (58.8) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −10.7 (12.7) |
−9.4 (15.1) |
0.0 (32.0) |
11.8 (53.2) |
19.7 (67.5) |
25.8 (78.4) |
27.7 (81.9) |
25.7 (78.3) |
18.1 (64.6) |
9.1 (48.4) |
−0.6 (30.9) |
−7.9 (17.8) |
9.1 (48.4) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −14.4 (6.1) |
−13.6 (7.5) |
−4.4 (24.1) |
5.8 (42.4) |
12.7 (54.9) |
18.4 (65.1) |
20.5 (68.9) |
18.4 (65.1) |
11.2 (52.2) |
3.3 (37.9) |
−4.4 (24.1) |
−11.4 (11.5) |
3.5 (38.3) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −37.9 (−36.2) |
−37.2 (−35.0) |
−36.1 (−33.0) |
−15.9 (3.4) |
−5.4 (22.3) |
2.2 (36.0) |
8.2 (46.8) |
5.0 (41.0) |
−4.4 (24.1) |
−15.7 (3.7) |
−31.6 (−24.9) |
−34.8 (−30.6) |
−37.9 (−36.2) |
| Averageprecipitationmm (inches) | 11 (0.4) |
13 (0.5) |
16 (0.6) |
14 (0.6) |
14 (0.6) |
12 (0.5) |
8 (0.3) |
6 (0.2) |
4 (0.2) |
14 (0.6) |
14 (0.6) |
13 (0.5) |
139 (5.5) |
| Average extreme snow depth cm (inches) | 8 (3.1) |
7 (2.8) |
3 (1.2) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
3 (1.2) |
8 (3.1) |
| Average rainy days | 4 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 75 |
| Average snowy days | 16 | 12 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 13 | 55 |
| Averagerelative humidity(%) | 84 | 82 | 76 | 53 | 45 | 37 | 37 | 37 | 43 | 58 | 76 | 82 | 59 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 124 | 168 | 198 | 260 | 337 | 363 | 377 | 360 | 296 | 218 | 139 | 106 | 2,946 |
| Source 1: Pogoda.ru.net[5] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2:NOAA(sun, 1961–1990)[6] | |||||||||||||
References
[edit]- ^abc"Население Республики Казахстан"[Population of the Republic of Kazakhstan] (in Russian). Департамент социальной и демографической статистики.Retrieved8 December2013.
- ^This section from ‘An Indian Officer’, Russia’s March towards India,1894, page 160 and Hugo Stumm,The Russian Campaign against Khiva in 1873,1876, pages 29 and 229. Since these sources contradict this section needs to be improved.
- ^"Stephen M Bland | Journalist and Author | Central Asia Caucasus".
- ^Zelicoff, A.P., “An epidemiological analysis of the 1971 smallpox outbreak in Aralsk, Kazakhstan” (2002), In: Tucker, J.B. and R.A. Zilinskas,eds.,The 1971 Smallpox Epidemic in Aralsk, Kazakhstan, and the Soviet Biological Warfare Program;Monterey, California:Monterey Institute of International Studies,Center for Nonproliferation Studies. Occasional Paper No. 9.
- ^"Weather and Climate- The Climate of Aral"(in Russian). Weather and Climate (Погода и климат).Retrieved3 January2022.
- ^ "Aralskoe More (Aral) Climate Normals 1961–1990".National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.Retrieved13 May2015.
Further reading
[edit]- Bissell, Tom (2003).Chasing the Sea: Lost Among the Ghosts of Empire in Central Asia.New York: Pantheon Books.ISBN0-375-42130-0.
External links
[edit]
Media related toAral (city)at Wikimedia Commons
