It is the beginning of February and there is almost no sea ice in the Caspian sea and we observe anamalously low ice volume that was generated to the moment.
The maximum volume reached this season is 4.3 cubic km. This is a very small number compared to 19.2 that was observed in 2017-2018 and 17.3 in 2014-15. Ice Edge is now close to Kashagan East facilities and only some eroding floes melt away South West of them. Eastern Coast is already clearing from ice with Dead Kultuk in the South East being almost open water and only some grounded areas of ice persisting near Prorva channel. Maximum ice thickness reached this winter is 24 cm along the NE Coast and reduction is already observed.
Although we see some cold snaps in the medium range forecasts that may result in temporary ice formation in the northern part of the sea, long term climatic analysis shows extreme warm air temperature anomalies hinting the end of the ice season is very close. Let’s sea how it goes on our Caspian ice dashboard through the rest of the winter.