Lake Baikal may be leave without ice this winter

By Alimat Aliyeva

Lake Baikal is unlikely to freeze over this year. According to the Baikal Search and Rescue squad of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations, the situation remains critical, with forecasts for ice formation being extremely pessimistic, Azernews reports.

Currently, only patchy intermediate ice has formed on the lake, which is not sufficient to form a full ice cover. In several isolated bays, ice fragments can be observed, but these areas remain highly unstable. The existing ice sections offer little hope for a solid ice sheet.

"In the north, ice is forming 5-7 kilometers from the shore, while open water remains visible in the central part of Lake Baikal. Open water is also present near the ferry crossing on the Small Sea. On the Olkhon side, ice is present only in certain areas, with the rest of the territory covered by water. No ice formation is expected in the south," the report states.

The primary cause of this phenomenon is the abnormally warm winter, which has failed to provide the necessary temperature conditions for ice formation on Lake Baikal.