On the international meeting which was held 28-30 january in Kaliningrad, teh question upon the Baikal Lake condition was discussed.

Russian authorities decided to perform thorough search for possible reasons of sharp fall of water level in the Baikal Lake between 2007 and 2008.
Water level fall rate in the lake is quite high – Baikal lost 12 centimeters this January and keeps losing its waters. Two days ago Baikal was 456.28 meters deep. Earlier scientists detected fluctuations of the lake’s water level, occasionally dropping to 456.15 meters. However, current water level fall is sharp – it started in October and can possibly reach critical 456 m in April.
Among possible reasons experts mention excessive waters, flowing via the river Angara to hydroelectric power stations.