COP29 host Azerbaijan faces climate disaster as Caspian Sea dries up

Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, is located on the western shore of the Caspian Sea, but falling water levels could leave the city and oil infrastructure cut off from the sea

VANO SHLAMOV/AFP via Getty Images

Ports, oil drilling rigs and coastal settlements will be marooned kilometres from the shore as climate change drives water loss in the Caspian Sea, according to a study that highlights the huge economic threat global warming poses to Azerbaijan, the host of the COP29 climate summit.

Water levels are already falling fast in the Caspian, the world’s largest inland body of water, in…