Ice on Lake Baikal Covered with Cracks

Ice on Lake Baikal has become covered with cracks. This is observed across almost the entire surface of the lake, according to the website of the Planeta Research Center for Space Hydrometeorology «Planeta».

According to satellite monitoring, continuous ice cover is recorded on Lake Baikal, with hummocks in places. The ice is partially covered with snow.

«Cracks are observed across almost the entire surface of the lake, which periodically widen and narrow due to strong winds,» the statement said.

Scientists clarify that most cracks are located along the western coast of the southern tip of the lake. Ice breaks are in the area of the villages of Listvyanka and Buguldeika (Irkutsk Oblast, Russia), with open water in places.

Stable cracks are also observed on the ice of the Maloe More (Small Sea) from Cape Ulan-Khada towards Cape Kobylia Golova (Horse«s Head).

The ice thickness is 34–75 centimeters (13–30 inches), which in Baikalsk, Babushkin, Khuzhir, and on Bolshoy Ushkany Island is 8–23 centimeters (3–9 inches) above normal. In Port Baikal, the village of Tankhoy, at the Tompa weather station, and in the village of Nizhneangarsk, the ice thickness is near normal, while at other hydrological stations it is 7–16 centimeters (3–6 inches) below normal.

At the same time, specialists emphasize that the ice thickness continues to increase.

Meanwhile, the police and the Ministry of Emergency Situations (EMERCOM) warn that walking or driving onto the ice outside of designated ice crossings is deadly dangerous.