Lake Ladoga Drops 90 cm: Experts Cite Causes
Lake Ladoga is showing anomalously low water levels this summer. Stones and bottom sediments that were previously submerged are now exposed. Walks along the shore have revealed new landscapes, but boat owners have to be more careful due to the reduced depth. In July, many fishermen warned that reaching Karedzhi Island had become more difficult — they had to use an echo sounder to monitor the depth.
According to the North-Western Administration of Roshydromet, in July the lake«s water level was 90 centimeters below normal. A further decline is expected in the coming months, creating risks for navigation, especially in the shallow Petrokrepst Bay.
«We are still far from the historic minimum. We have unfavorable and dangerous marks. But problems for shipping may soon begin, because Petrokrepst Bay is very shallow. Ships with a large draft will not be able to pass. Those involved in shipping are very worried because Ladoga is still dropping. Possibly, in the near future they will not be able to pass the bay,» said Marina Bogdan, head of the hydrological and marine forecasts department at the Saint Petersburg Hydrometeorological Center.
Specialists link the shallowing to climate change. Winters are becoming shorter and less snowy, and spring floods are weaker. In the spring of 2026, there was practically no precipitation, which exacerbated the situation. «Yes, this is related to climate change. There is not enough time for a sufficient snow cover to accumulate to provide us with a normal flood. This year we also had practically no precipitation in the spring,» explained Marina Bogdan. The level will drop until the onset of ice phenomena (usually in December), then begin to slowly rise by one or two centimeters due to ice jam phenomena.
Ladoga«s level fluctuates cyclically. In 2024–2025 it was above normal. Previous severe shallowing was observed in 2015 (when the monks of Valaam drew attention to the problem) and in 2003–2004 (the strongest in 25 years at that time). A slight decrease in level was also recorded in 2022 both in Ladoga and in the Gulf of Finland.
Leading researcher at the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI), Doctor of Geographical Sciences Dmitry Bolshiyanov notes that fluctuations in the lake«s water level are a natural normal process. »The last peak in the lake«s level was in 2018. An even greater drop in the lake level — more than a meter relative to the present — occurred in 2004. Since this is a cyclical process with an interval of 5–10 years, the next rise in Ladoga»s level is expected in 2027–2028,« says Bolshiyanov. He also explained that current level fluctuations (up to four meters) are associated not only with surface runoff but also with the inflow of water from the Earth»s crust — this concerns all large water bodies in the world.
«Since water level fluctuations are a natural and periodic process, the lake»s ecosystem is well adapted to them and no catastrophic consequences for flora and fauna are expected,« the expert noted. He added that in the long term, there is no shallowing of Ladoga: the average depth is 47 meters, and the maximum is 242 meters. Each person can influence the situation only by caring for the environment, for example, by not polluting water bodies.
In 2025, AARI published the book «Changes in Sea Level in the Polar Regions of the Earth in the Last Hundreds and Thousands of Years», which analyzes the causes and dynamics of Lake Ladoga«s level fluctuations.
