Glaciers on Turkey's highest mountain melting due to climate change

Published 25 Aug,2021 via Hürriyet Daily News - The glaciers on Mt. Ağrı, Turkey's highest point with an altitude of 5,137 meters (over 16,853 feet), are melting due to the climate change.

A glacier with an area of 10.2 square kilometers (4 square miles) on the summit of the mountain extends from the south to Öküz (ox) Stream in Doğubayazıt district of Ağrı province, and from the north to the Cehennem (Hell) Valley in the Aralık district of Iğdır province.

The glacier on the summit of Mt. Ağrı is of great importance for the region, Oğuz Şimşek, an associate professor at the Department of Geography in Iğdır University, told Anadolu Agency.

Underlining that the largest glacier cover in Turkey is located on Mt. Ağrı , Şimşek said global warming, whose effects have been clearly seen in Turkey recently, has caused the glaciers to melt in early July and August, causing landslides in the region.

Şimşek noted the glacial meltdowns occurring especially in Öküz Stream on the south-facing side of Mt. Ağrı are clearly visible.

Triggered by glacial melt, the wet soil flows down the mountain slopes to the residential areas by picking up morainal material in its path, he added.

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