Further retreat and melting of the Tufandag glacier, located on the north-eastern slopes of the Greater Caucasus in the Qusarchay basin, was recorded by a joint expedition by specialists from the State Water Resources Agency’s Water Use and Protection Service and the Ministry of Ecology’s National Hydrometeorology Service. 

Glaciers are among the clearest indicators of global climate change: any warming or cooling is quickly reflected in changes to their surface area.

The team carried out fieldwork at altitudes of 3,500-3,800 metres, documenting coordinates, elevations, exposure, photographs and detailed descriptions of the glacier and surrounding valleys. Researchers observed that the glacier’s surface area continues to shrink, cracks are becoming larger and more numerous, and meltwater discharge from the Mahmuddara river is increasing. The glacier tongue has retreated uphill, with its volume decreasing due to intensified melting caused by unusually high temperatures.

Similar results were reported in earlier expeditions. In 2017, studies at 3,755 metres found that the glacier tongue had retreated by 20-22 metres compared with previous years, while in 2018, researchers again confirmed accelerated melting, greater cracking, and higher water flow from the glacier-fed river.

The Tufandag glacier, situated to the north of Mount Tufan, is the largest in the area and belongs to the cirque and hanging glacier types. It tends to move downslope under gravity but often remains suspended on steep terrain.

Expeditions to monitor Tufandag and other glaciers intensified after a 2008 presidential decree called for comprehensive hydrometeorological and ecological studies of the Bazarduzu, Tufandag and Shahdag ecosystems.