China's largest desert lake is shrinking as a result of climate change and human activities and it could vanish in just a decade, officials estimate.
Hongjiannao lake, sandwiched between the Muus desert in Shaanxi province and the Erdos plateau, has shrunk by over 40 per cent in the past 15 years.
Its lake area measured 7,000 hectares in 1996, but has shrunk to 4,000 hectares, and its water level is declining by 60 centimeters annually, data from the lake's management committee showed.
"Unless adequate measures are taken, Hongjiannao may vanish in just 10 years," said Ren Leijie, a senior official.
Experts fear that Hongjiannao may become another Lop Nur, which, located in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, was the largest lake in northwestern China before it dried up in 1972 due to desertification and environmental degradation.
Dams have been built since 2006 on two of the seven rivers that drained into Hongjiannao to improve water conservation facilities in the upper area, which has cut off water supplies to the lake, said Li Wenyi, another official.
About 40 per cent of lake's water came from the Yingpan river before a dam was built on the river five years ago.
Meanwhile, Hongjiannao has gradually lost the water that it used to get from underground streams and rivers as excessive coal mining around the lake has changed the way water flows underground.
The area has seen less rainfall in recent years, which also contributed to the shrinking of the lake.