Has Attabad Lake of Hunza become a desert? It’s not that simple

Attabad Lake in Hunza is commonly called the ‘crown jewel’ of Gilgit-Baltistan and is one of the biggest tourist attractions in the region. The lake was formed when the village of Attabad in the Gojal Valley suffered a major landslide on January 4, 2010.

In recent days, videos purporting to show the latest visuals of the lake have been making the rounds on social media, showing much of its once-turquoise waters replaced by dry, exposed land.

The clip was shared by several digital media pages on X, Facebook and Instagram, as seen here, here, here And here. Some said the lake no longer existed, while others expressed concerns over the “visible decline in water levels”, linking it to environmental degradation in Pakistan’s northern regions due to “increased tourism, unplanned activities and natural changes”. One user also called it “the end of Attabad Lake as we know it.”

Meanwhile, people in the comments section argued that the lake drying up was a regular occurrence, further fueling the debate.

WHAT WE FOUND

A keyword search to see if major local media had reported on the drying of the lake yielded a reporting by Pakistan todaydated June 2, 2026. “What was once an almost surreal, deep blue expanse of water, where tourists took boat rides and took postcard-perfect photos, is now radically different,” it reads.

“Viral clips circulating on social media show large expanses of sand, narrowing water channels and areas that resemble a cold desert more than a lake,” the report adds.

A similar one report was carried by Pakhtun Digitalan independent digital news network based in Peshawar, on June 5 with the headline “Attabad Lake: A magnificent masterpiece of nature now under environmental pressure”. He sounded the alarm that if measures were not taken to protect the lake, it would lose its natural beauty within a few years.

Jamil Nagri, Dawn correspondent in Great Britain, also confirmed that the visuals circulating on social networks were accurate.

A deeper dive into the science behind water levels and lake formation resulted in a Research Paper 2024 who stated that Attabad Lake had never been a typical natural lake. It formed in 2010 after a landslide blocked the Hunza River, meaning the lake is technically a landslide-dammed reservoir – a natural body of water formed when a catastrophic landslide, rockslide or avalanche debris blocks the flow of a river.

As a result, the size and water levels of the lake are influenced by factors such as the inflow from the Hunza River and glacier-fed tributaries, rainfall, and the management of outflow through spillways constructed to reduce pressure on the natural dam.

The research found a gradual reduction in the lake’s surface area between 2010 and 2020. According to the authors, sediment accumulated in the northern estuary upstream of the lake as the water body changed over time, increasing the extent of exposed sediment deposits and changing the surrounding landscape.

“Due to its proximity to the source of the Hunza River, the lake experiences rapid siltation. Over time, this natural sedimentation gradually reduces the active water area and changes the surrounding landscape,” the document notes.

The study further observed that changes in the lake became less pronounced after 2016, suggesting that the water body was moving towards a more stable state.

The same was confirmed by a climate expert based in Britain. “The lake is not drying up; rather, it is shrinking due to high levels of silt in the lake, which is a natural phenomenon,” he told iVerify Pakistan over the phone. “That’s something we’ve seen in most rivers in the northern areas.”

The Karakoram rivers carry large loads of rock, sand and fine particles eroded by the surrounding mountains and glaciers.

He explained that there was siltation of sand and soil in summer from upstream water tributaries, the lake’s main source of water, which made it appear as if the lake was drying up. As river water slows upon entering the lake, much of this material is deposited on the lake bed, gradually forming exposed mudflats and sandy areas.

“Water continues to flow into the lake; however, it varies due to climatic factors. The huge amount of silt accumulating in the Attabad lake makes the lake appear dry,” the expert added.

Therefore, it is not possible to determine whether currently exposed areas will remain exposed, expand or be submerged again in the future, as this is influenced by a combination of glacial melt, river inflows, sediment deposition and other factors.

CONCLUSION

To say that Attabad Lake is dry is an error. misleading.

Although the viral videos accurately show exposed sediment and changes, the size and appearance of Lake Attabad is influenced by natural hydrological processes, including glacier melt, river flow and sediment deposition, making it difficult to predict future changes with certainty.

This fact check was originally published by iVerify Pakistan – a project of CEJ-IBA and UNDP.