Severe Drought and Ecological Response in the Tarim Basin in the Early 20th Century

Abstract

Based on multi-source data， this article identifies and reconstructs a severe drought event in the modern Tarim Basin.The results show that in the early 20th century， especially in 1917 and 1918， an arc-shaped drought zone formed along the northwest to southwest edge of the basin.The temperature in the Kashgar and Yarkant River basins decreased， precipitation reduced， and the river flow at the north and south edges of the basin reached its lowest level in nearly a hundred years， resulting in severe drought.The drought zone overlapped with the population distribution and irrigation hotspots within the basin， intensifying the conflict between humans and water， and causing severe canalization of water bodies.At the same time， some water systems within the basin disintegrated， water bodies dried up， the desert expanded， endangering rivers， lakes， marshes， and vegetation.Some animal populations became extinct due to the degradation of their habitats.The climatic background of this drought event may be related to the suppression of warm and moist westerlies caused by the North Atlantic Oscillation （NAO）， and the strengthening of the Arctic cold and dry air masses.

Keywords

• tarim basin
• extreme drought events
• human-water conflict
• river and lake ecology
• early 20th century