The Caspian, the world’s largest inland sea, is fast shrinking due to the climate emergency The Neft Dashlari oil drilling platform in the Caspian Sea, about 100km from Baku, Azerbaijan, 6 September 2023. Photo: EPA/MAXIM SHIPENKOV Once a haven for flamingos, sturgeon and thousands of seals, fast-receding waters are turning the northern coast of the Caspian Sea into barren stretches of dry sand. In some places, the sea has retreated more than 50km.