Summary

Lake Baikal in Siberia holds around 20% of the world's surface freshwater, making it the most voluminous freshwater lake (Lake Superior on the United States–Canada border is the largest by surface area). This makes the lake one of the most important environments for biodiversity—in fact, it was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1996 because of this. Yet it has shown considerable decline over the last century, with aridification spreading across East Asia.

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