Signs of intense degradation of the high-altitude cryosphere have been recorded on the Chelektor moraine-glacier complex on the northern slope of the Kyrgyz Ridge, the Hydrometeorological Service reported. Over the past decade, the area of ​​the exposed glacier has decreased from 25.1 to 14.8 hectares, a 41 percent reduction. The disintegration of the single glacier massif into separate fragments has also been recorded. Experts note that some exposed ice is transitioning to an «armored» state—the ice is now hidden under a thick layer of moraine deposits. These processes indicate the destruction of buried ice, which is not always reflected in estimates of the exposed glacier area alone.