Glaciers on Türkiye’s mountains melting due to global warming, says expert

If global warming continues at this rate, all glaciers on Türkiye's mountains will definitely melt, says Yıldırım Güngör, an associate professor from Istanbul University.

The expert pointed out that there has been a significant melting of the ice on the summit of Mt. Ağrı, which has the largest glacier cover in Türkiye stretching from the south to Öküz (Ox) Stream in the province of Ağrı's Doğubayazıt district and from the north to the Cehennem (Hell) Valley in the province of Iğdır's Aralık district.

"As someone who has climbed the mountain more than 20 times in the last 36 years, I can easily recognize it," said Güngör, who has set on reconnaissance expeditions on glacial mountains. "The melting of ice in the valley can be seen even at 4,400 meters [14,435 ft]."

"Those who climb Mt. Ağrı, which has a glacier on its summit, especially in summer, should definitely pay attention to whether the glacial cracks are widening," he urged.

Small amounts of glacier milk, which is water coming from glaciers containing rock particles giving it a cloudy appearance, in Öküz Stream have been seen frequently for years, while landslides caused by melting glaciers are experienced in Cehennem Stream every few years, Güngör said, underlining that all these events are signs of the rapid meltdown of the glaciers on Mt. Ağrı.

"In 1985, when I first started mountaineering, there were large glacier masses in Mt. Erciyes [in the Central Anatolian province of Kayseri]. Now they have almost disappeared," Güngör said.

"Mt. Süphan [in the eastern province of Bitlis], on the other hand, has no glacier left but a piece of a glacier at the summit. Massive glacier meltdowns are also observed in the central and eastern Taurus Mountains [in the eastern...