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{{about|the city in [[Kazakhstan]]|other uses|Aral (disambiguation)}}
{{Expand Russian|Аральск|topic=geo|date=February 2009}}
{{Infobox settlement
| official_name = Aral
| native_name = Арал
| image_skyline = AralskHarbor.jpg
| image_flag =
| image_seal = Emblem Aral.png
| image_map =
| map_caption =
|pushpin_map = Kazakhstan
|pushpin_label_position =bottom
|pushpin_mapsize = 280
|pushpin_map_caption =Location in Kazakhstan
|subdivision_type = [[Countries of the world|Country]]
|subdivision_type1 = [[Regions of Kazakhstan|Region]]
|subdivision_name = {{flag|Kazakhstan}}
|subdivision_name1 = [[Kyzylorda Region|Kyzylorda]]
| established_title =
| established_date =
| government_type =
| leader_title =
| leader_name =
| area_magnitude =
| area_total_sq_mi =
| area_total_km2 =
| area_land_sq_mi =
| area_land_km2 =
| area_urban_sq_mi =
| area_urban_km2 =
| area_metro_km2 =
| area_metro_sq_mi =
| population_as_of=2009
| population_footnotes =<ref name="kz2009Census"/>
| population_total = 29987
| population_urban =
| population_metro =
| population_density_sq_mi =
| population_density_km2 =
| timezone =
| utc_offset =
| timezone_DST =
| utc_offset_DST =
|coordinates = {{coord|46|47|0|N|61|40|0|E|region:KZ|display=inline}}
| elevation_footnotes=
| elevation_m =
| elevation_ft =
| postal_code_type =
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| area_code =
| website =
| footnotes =
}}
[[Image:AralSquare.JPG|thumb|right|Square in Aral]]
[[Image:Aral harbour.jpg|thumb|right|What used to be the harbour of Aral]]
[[File:Fish factory, Aralsk, Kazakhstan.jpg|thumb|Fish factory in Aral]]
'''Aral''', also known as '''Aralsk''' or '''Aral'sk''', ([[Kazakh language|Kazakh]]: '''Арал''', ''Aral'', ارال; [[Russian language|Russian]]: '''Аральск''', ''Araljsk'') {{coord|display=title|46|47|N|61|40|E|}} is a small city in south-western [[Kazakhstan]], located in the ''[[oblast]]'' (region) of [[Kyzylorda Region|Kyzylorda]]. It serves as the administrative center of [[Aral District]]. Aral was formerly a fishing port and harbour city on the banks of the [[Aral Sea]], and was a major supplier of fish to the neighboring region. Population: {{Kz-census2009|29,987|punct=;}} {{Kz-census1999|30,347|punct=.}}

==History==

===Early settlement===

In 1817, there was a village Alty-Kuduk (Six Wells) near the present city of Aralsk. This is currently a railway passing-track in the southern part of the city. Since the 1870s, this was recorded as the Aralsky settlement. The development of Aralsk began when the Orenburg-Tashkent railway was being constructed (1899-1905). In 1905, the railway station was constructed and continues to operate. The official history of Aralsk began that same year.

In 1905, Russian merchants organized large fishing companies and formed a joint-stock firm in Aralsk. This was the beginning of fishery in the Aral Sea and ship-building plants soon followed in Aralsk.

After the Revolution, the station “Aralskoye more (sea)” with the adjoining settlement received the name Aralsk. In 1938, Aralsk and the Aralsky district became a part of newly formed Kzyl-Orda oblast of Kazakh SSR and turned into the town.

Aralsk is not to be confused with '''Fort Aralsk''' which was about 120km south. In 1847 Russia built Raimsk, later called Fort Aralsk, near the mouth of the Syr Darya. In either 1848 or 1853 or 1855 Raimsk was abandoned and Fort Aralsk moved upriver to Fort Number One, or [[Kazalinsk]]. Further upriver were forts No. 2 and 3 which were the old [[Khanate of Kokand|Kokandi]] forts of Karmaktschy and Kumish-Kurgan. Fort Aralsk was used to launch ships to map the Aral Sea and as a base to attack [[Kyzylorda|Ak Mechet]].<ref>This section from ‘An Indian Officer’, Russia’s March towards India,1894, page 160 and Hugo Stumm,The Russian Campaign against Khiva in 1873,1876, pages 29 and 229. Since these sources contradict this section needs to be improved.</ref>

===Decline===
Since the retreat of the Aral Sea since 1960, due to diversion of the rivers flowing into it for [[irrigation]], mainly of [[cotton]], during the [[Soviet era]], Aral is now completely [[landlocked]] about 12 km from the [[North Aral Sea|northern remnant of the Aral Sea]], <ref>http://www.stephenmbland.com/#!kazakhstan-measuring-the-northern-aral/cewp</ref> though this is less than the 100 km distance observed before the completion of [[Dike Kokaral|a dam]] in 2005. Aral has greatly diminished in population and [[Socioeconomics|socioeconomic]] significance, resulting in high levels of [[unemployment]]. For the last 25 years it has not been possible to see the sea from the town. There are also serious health problems for the local population caused by airborne toxic chemicals{{Citation needed|date=February 2008}} exposed to the wind by the retreating waters and, possibly, from [[chemical agents|chemical]] and [[biological agents]] unsafely stored on the island of [[Vozrozhdeniya]].

===Aral smallpox incident===
{{main|Aral smallpox incident}}
In 1971, a massive public health response to a smallpox outbreak in Aral ensued once the disease was recognized as resulting from release of weaponized smallpox from a nearby [[biological weapon]]s test site. In less than 2 weeks, approximately 50,000 residents of Aral were vaccinated. Household quarantine of potentially exposed individuals was enacted, and hundreds were isolated in a makeshift facility at the edge of the city. All traffic in and out of the city was stopped, and approximately 54,000 square feet of living space and 18 metric tons of household goods were decontaminated by health officials. The original outbreak sickened ten people in Aral, of whom 3 died.<ref>Zelicoff, A.P., “An epidemiological analysis of the 1971 smallpox outbreak in Aralsk, Kazakhstan” (2002), In: Tucker, J.B. and R.A. Zilinskas,eds., ''[http://cns.miis.edu/opapers/op9/op9.pdf The 1971 Smallpox Epidemic in Aralsk, Kazakhstan, and the Soviet Biological Warfare Program]''; [[Monterey, California]]: [[Monterey Institute of International Studies]], Center for Nonproliferation Studies. Occasional Paper No. 9.</ref>

==Climate==
Aral has a cold [[desert climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification]] ''BWk'') with cold winters and hot summers.

{{Weather box
|location = Aral
|single line = Yes
|metric first = Yes
|Jan record high C = 6.3
|Feb record high C = 17.8
|Mar record high C = 29.2
|Apr record high C = 33.9
|May record high C = 39.9
|Jun record high C = 46.9
|Jul record high C = 44.8
|Aug record high C = 44.4
|Sep record high C = 41.0
|Oct record high C = 32.6
|Nov record high C = 24.7
|Dec record high C = 10.3
|year record high C = 46.9
|Jan high C = -6.6
|Feb high C = -5.1
|Mar high C = 3.7
|Apr high C = 17.7
|May high C = 25.7
|Jun high C = 32.3
|Jul high C = 34.2
|Aug high C = 32.4
|Sep high C = 25.2
|Oct high C = 15.4
|Nov high C = 4.1
|Dec high C = -3.7
|year high C = 14.6
|Jan mean C = -10.6
|Feb mean C = -9.6
|Mar mean C = -1.4
|Apr mean C = 11.2
|May mean C = 18.9
|Jun mean C = 25.5
|Jul mean C = 27.6
|Aug mean C = 25.5
|Sep mean C = 18.0
|Oct mean C = 8.9
|Nov mean C = -0.4
|Dec mean C = -7.6
|year mean C = 8.8
|Jan low C = -14.4
|Feb low C = -13.6
|Mar low C = -5.6
|Apr low C = 5.2
|May low C = 12.1
|Jun low C = 18.2
|Jul low C = 20.5
|Aug low C = 18.3
|Sep low C = 11.1
|Oct low C = 3.2
|Nov low C = -4.0
|Dec low C = -11.0
|year low C = 3.3
|Jan record low C = -37.9
|Feb record low C = -37.2
|Mar record low C = -36.1
|Apr record low C = -15.9
|May record low C = -5.4
|Jun record low C = 3.6
|Jul record low C = 8.2
|Aug record low C = 5.4
|Sep record low C = -4.4
|Oct record low C = -15.7
|Nov record low C = -31.6
|Dec record low C = -34.8
|year record low C = -37.9
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation mm = 12
|Feb precipitation mm = 11
|Mar precipitation mm = 15
|Apr precipitation mm = 12
|May precipitation mm = 15
|Jun precipitation mm = 15
|Jul precipitation mm = 8
|Aug precipitation mm = 5
|Sep precipitation mm = 6
|Oct precipitation mm = 12
|Nov precipitation mm = 13
|Dec precipitation mm = 12
|year precipitation mm = 136
|Jan humidity = 84
|Feb humidity = 82
|Mar humidity = 76
|Apr humidity = 53
|May humidity = 45
|Jun humidity = 37
|Jul humidity = 37
|Aug humidity = 37
|Sep humidity = 43
|Oct humidity = 58
|Nov humidity = 76
|Dec humidity = 82
|year humidity = 59
| Jan rain days = 4
| Feb rain days = 3
| Mar rain days = 6
| Apr rain days = 8
| May rain days = 10
| Jun rain days = 7
| Jul rain days = 8
| Aug rain days = 5
| Sep rain days = 5
| Oct rain days = 7
| Nov rain days = 7
| Dec rain days = 5
|year rain days = 75
|Jan snow days = 16
|Feb snow days = 12
|Mar snow days = 7
|Apr snow days = 1
|May snow days = 0
|Jun snow days = 0
|Jul snow days = 0
|Aug snow days = 0
|Sep snow days = 0
|Oct snow days = 1
|Nov snow days = 5
|Dec snow days = 13
|year snow days = 55
|Jan sun = 124
|Feb sun = 168
|Mar sun = 198
|Apr sun = 260
|May sun = 337
|Jun sun = 363
|Jul sun = 377
|Aug sun = 360
|Sep sun = 296
|Oct sun = 218
|Nov sun = 139
|Dec sun = 106
|year sun = 2946
|source 1 = Pogoda.ru.net <ref name= pogoda>{{cite web
| url = http://www.pogodaiklimat.ru/climate/35746.htm
| title = Weather and Climate- The Climate of Aral
| publisher = Weather and Climate (Погода и климат)
| language = Russian
| accessdate = 13 May 2015}}</ref>
|source 2 = NOAA (sun, 1961–1990)<ref name = NOAA >
{{cite web
| url = ftp://ftp.atdd.noaa.gov/pub/GCOS/WMO-Normals/TABLES/REG_II/KS/35746.TXT
| title = Aralskoe More (Aral) Climate Normals 1961–1990
| publisher = [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]]
| accessdate = 13 May 2015}}</ref>
|date=November 2011
}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book |last=Bissell |first=Tom |year=2003 |title=Chasing the Sea: Lost Among the Ghosts of Empire in Central Asia |publisher=Pantheon Books |location=New York |isbn=0-375-42130-0 }}

==External links==
{{Wikivoyage|Aral}}
{{Commonscat-inline|Aral (city)}}
* News story on the plight of Aralsk and the Aral Sea. [http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/15390/story.htm]
* The shrinking Aral Sea. [http://www1.american.edu/ted/aral.htm]
* Bringing life back to Asia's 'dead' sea. [http://edition.cnn.com/2010/TECH/05/26/aral.sea/]

{{Kyzylorda Region}}

[[Category:Populated places in Kyzylorda Region]]

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