Gaining water bodies by climate change benefits water crisis mitigation in central Asia

Central Asia (CA) faces a severe water crisis exemplified by the shrinking Aral Sea. However, little is known about the entire region, particularly the numerous small water bodies that are vulnerable to climate change yet vital for regional sustainability. We examined water bodies as small as 0.0045 km² across CA from 1992 to 2020, identifying 66,215 water bodies in 2020, 82.2% of which were previously unstudied. In contrast to the well-documented decline of the Aral Sea, other water bodies have expanded by 10.7% (8714.3 km²), with a net gain of 15,831 lakes since 1992. These findings challenge the perception of a drying CA and provide evidence of a warm-wet climate trend, which is redistributing water resources and creating opportunities for transforming water management to address the long-standing water crisis in CA.