Paper short abstract:

The paper explores how debates on desiccation in Central Asia that emerged in the late 19th century continued until the 1950s and increasingly revealed political dimensions as glacier retreat became more obvious. It asks how scientists defended their vision of climate dynamics in the regions.

Paper long abstract:

During the end of the 19th century scholars of Central Asia, such Ellsworth Huntington, Aleksandr Voeikov and Lev Berg embarked on a debate whether the region was drying out. At the origin of their discussions stood the observation of retreating glaciers. In view of recurring droughts, people feared that deserts were encroaching. While the debate somewhat slowed down in the early 20th century, the fears stayed as glaciers kept retreating. The paper traces how scientists made sense of the environmental changes throughout the 20th century and how the debate on a possible desiccation kept returning and was rebuked despite the obvious symptoms of an increasing shortage of water in the long term. Scientific discussions about the future amount of water from glaciers were closely entangled with ideas of technological fixes and dreams of eternal economic productivity in the eastern part of the Soviet empire – entanglements that determined the success of the theories in the public space.