MOSCOW, August 18. /TASS/. Ice reserves in glaciers of the Russian Arctic archipelagos decreased in 2014-2023 by about 25 gigatons a year due to global warming, and this melting rate is much higher than that of previous years, the Institute of Geography's Director Olga Solomina told a news conference.

"As for our Arctic archipelagos, where our main glaciation is, by using remote data – which we can do now very well – we can estimate the ice mass loss. You can see that in 2014-2023, glaciers started to shrink most actively – 25 gigatons a year, while in the previous period – only 8," she said.

Icebergs that break off from glaciers pose an additional danger in the Arctic, she continued. "The icebergs are huge, and they create problems for both ships and oil platforms."

According to her, glaciers on Elbrus decreased by 23% over the studied period between 1997 and 2017. It is a "catastrophic story," she added.

The press conference was timed to coincide with the Geographer's Day, marked in Russia and the BRICS countries on August 18.