The first image was taken in 2012 on the Uzbek side of the Aral Sea, where once a shipping port stood. Since intensive cotton farming began in the 1960s, the Aral Sea has been dramatically shrinking. Once the fourth largest lake in the world, in 2014, it almost completely disappeared. The tragedy of the Aral Sea is considered one of the world's worst environmental disasters.
More info: http://www.ciesin.org/docs/006-238/006-238.html
The second image was taken in 2011 from the shores of a plentiful Menindee Lakes in far western New South Wales, Australia. But today in 2016, the Menindee Lakes is now under threat. Some also point to intensive cotton farming as well as mining further up the Darling River, which flows into the lakes. So dire is the situation that the entire water supply of Broken Hill, one of Australia's largest outback towns, is now threatened, along with the habitat of thousands of birds and wildlife. Menindee Lakes is a sacred site for the Barkindji people.
More info: http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/broken-hill--why-is-australias-heritage-city-running-out-of-water-20151119-gl37m9.html
