Glaciers of Elbrus and other mountains of the Caucasus are rapidly melting: what threatens the region

Climatic changes have not spared the Caucasus Mountains, where in the last decade glaciologists have noted a widespread reduction in the area of glaciers. And even the appearance of Elbrus with several glaciers descending along its slopes has changed significantly in recent years. What this threatens the region and what the consequences will be for the melting of glaciers in the Caucasus, we will tell in our article today.

Mountain Elbrus

In the North Caucasus, there are over 2,000 glaciers. This makes it not only one of the largest glaciation centers in Russia, but throughout Eurasia. Nevertheless, scientists from the Institute of Geography of the Russian Academy of Sciences, conducting continuous monitoring of the state of glaciers, note their gradual degradation. This applies to the glaciers of Elbrus - the highest peak in Russia - and the northernmost glacier in the Caucasus, located on Mount Psheha-Su, which today consists of 4 isolated sections. Elbrus, on the slopes of which there are 23 glaciers, in just 20 years (from 1997 to 2017) lost 23% of its ice cap. If we compare these indicators with the figures of the previous period (from 1957 to 1997), it turns out that the glaciers on the slopes of Elbrus began to melt 3 times faster.

The largest glaciers of Elbrus

In general, scientists note that over the past 100 years, the glaciers of the Caucasus have lost about 40% of their area. If we compare these processes with the melting of glaciers in other parts of the planet, then the situation in the Caucasus is not unique and is fully correlated with global climatic changes. But what will the melting of the Caucasian glaciers turn into for the region?

View of the Greater Caucasus and its ice caps from space

Ski resort Dombay

Note that experts predict changes in the mountaineering sector and in the skiing industry associated with the melting of glaciers. Retreating and excessively mobile masses of ice increase the risk of climbing, and the ski season may be reduced in the coming decades, including on the slopes of Elbrus.