According to a February 2012 United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report, as lake levels decline, the exposed lakebed is left with a covering of salts, making a great salty desert on much of the 400 km² of lost surface area. These salt flats will not support agriculture and inhibit the growth of most natural vegetation.
The salts are also susceptible to dispersion by wind and will likely create «salt-storms» like the ones that have resulted from the drying of the Aral Sea, located 1,200 km to the northeast of Lake Urmia. In recent years, the Iranian government has built dams on more than 20 tributaries feeding into the lake.