ULAN UDE, September 15. /TASS/. The water level at Lake Baikal, the world’s largest freshwater source, having dropped to critical marks in April, may fall by another 28 centimetres next spring, the head of the Baikal Institute told TASS on Tuesday.

"This year, the lake’s water level fell to 455.86 metres in April. In the spring of 2016 it may drop by 28 centimetres to 455.58 metres," Yendon Garmayev said.

Decline of the south Siberian lake’s level began last autumn and reached its critical mark in spring for the first time in decades. Scientists explain the phenomenon by low water inflow from the Selenga, Upper Angara, Barguzin and other rivers draining directly into the world’s deepest lake.

Lake Baikal, a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1996, contains 20% of the world’s freshwater reserves.