A massive oil spill from a Syrian power plant is threatening an environmental catastrophe in the eastern Mediterranean.
The spill, which originated in a power plant in the Syrian city of Baniyas, covers an area of approximately 1,000 square kilometers.
The incident has raised concerns in Lebanon, Cyprus, and Turkey for its potentially disastrous consequences on the environment.
About 100 kilometers separate the Lebanese city of Tripoli from the location of the spill, which currently poses the highest risk to Northern Cyprus since the oil has stretched across the sea and gotten relatively close to its coast.
In addition to causing severe harm to the environment and marine life, oil spills also pose a huge risk to human health, such as respiratory damage, liver damage, decreased immunity, increased cancer risk, and more.
New satellite imagery analyisis by @EOSOrbital using Sentinel-1 indicats that the #Baniyas oil spill seems way larger than anticipated, with almost 1000km2, though visual IDing is need to see if and how big the oil sheen is h/t @HarelDan pic.twitter.com/eqDK1vdD0D
— Wim Zwijnenburg (@wammezz) August 30, 2021
Northern Cyprus said on Monday that its authorities were closely monitoring the developments related to the oil spill off the coast of the Karpas Peninsula.
Similarly, Turkey said that it would take the necessary measures to prevent an environmental catastrophe.
The Lebanese authorities have yet to comment on the oil spill or its potential risk on Lebanon, which already has a significant pollution problem that has rendered many of its waters unsafe for swimming and fishing.
