Thermal condition of the lake Baikal permafrost active layer in the global warming context

The climate of the Lake Baikal region was becoming warmer during last 30-35 years, indicated by a rise in temperature of 1.5 - 2.5 C. This has led to a shift by an average annual air temperature in several places above 0°C. The season-melting layer capacity has enlarged to 140-170 sm since 1909, but at the same time there are also geosystems where a permanent increase of freezing temperatures is observed. The physical effect of warming on the forests and ground cover is also considered in this article.