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

IGDIR, Turkey

The glaciers on Mt. Agri, 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 Okuz (ox) Stream in Dogubayazit district of Agri province, and from the north to the Cehennem (Hell) Valley in the Aralik district of Igdir province.

The glacier on the summit of Mt. Agri is of great importance for the region, Oguz Simsek, an associate professor at the Department of Geography in Igdir University, told Anadolu Agency.

Underlining that the largest glacier cover in Turkey is located on Mt. Agri, Simsek 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.

Simsek noted the glacial meltdowns occurring especially in Okuz Stream on the south-facing side of Mt. Agri 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.

* Writing by Zehra Nur Duz

IGDIR, Turkey

The glaciers on Mt. Agri, Turkey's highest point with an altitude of 5,137 meters (over 16,853 feet), are melting due to the climate change.

The glacier on the summit of Mt. Agri is of great importance for the region, Oguz Simsek, an associate professor at the Department of Geography in Igdir University, told Anadolu Agency.

Simsek noted the glacial meltdowns occurring especially in Okuz Stream on the south-facing side of Mt. Agri 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.

* Writing by Zehra Nur Duz