A lake in China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region has completed a stunning ecological comeback after decades of drought, proving environmental restoration is possible even in the planet’s toughest conditions. 🌍
East Juyan Lake – once parched for 10 years straight until 2002 – now sparkles across 30-40 sq km year-round, hosting over 100,000 migratory birds 🦆 and reversing desert expansion that once fueled apocalyptic sandstorms. 💨
The secret? A 20-year water diversion campaign along the Heihe River, China’s second-largest continental waterway. Since 2001, scientists have rerouted 1.28 billion cubic meters of water to the lakebed – enough to fill 500,000 Olympic pools! 🏊♂️📈
‘It’s like watching Phoenix from the ashes,’ says Liu Longtao of the Heihe River Basin Administration. ‘Sandstorms here have halved since the ’80s. Now, 133 bird species call this revived ecosystem home.’ 🌱
With climate change looming, this success story offers hope: smart water management and desertification control can turn environmental time bombs into thriving habitats. 🏜️→🌿
