– The speed is dramatic, and there is as much ice that has melted away in just two years as between 1969 and 1990, according to the new the report from the Swiss Academy of Sciences.
The small glaciers are disappearing
The analysis carried out by the academy shows that 4 per cent of the glacier volume in Switzerland has disappeared this year. In 2022, 6 percent of the ice melted. It is the biggest meltdown since measurements began in 1960.
Vadret da Tschierva and Piz Roseg (tv) seen from Alp Ota in 1935 and 2022
VAW / ETH Zurich
According to the report, the situation will only get worse in the future.
– The glaciers are melting at an ever-increasing rate.
According to the manager of Swiss Ice Monitoring (Glamos), Mathias Huss. have all the glaciers in the country melted somewhat. The small glaciers are most exposed.
Experts in Glamos, which monitors 176 glaciers in the country, have stopped measuring the ice on some glaciers because there is no longer anything to measure.
176 glaciers in the Swiss Alps are measured regularly to record changes in the size of the glaciers.
Photo: AP
– The small glaciers are actually disappearing now, says Huss.
The high glacier peaks have so far not been affected by the melting of the ice. But from 2022, several meters have melted away on some peaks that are as high as 3,200 meters above sea level.
– The reasons are a mixture of climate change and a very unfortunate combination of extreme weather, according to Huss.
Fiescher Glacier seen from Märjelenalp in 1928 and 2021.
VAW/ETH Zurich
He points to a winter with little snow and a summer with very high temperatures.
– If it continues at this rate, every year will be a bad year for the glaciers, says the head of Glamos.
Switzerland without glaciers
The researchers have previously warned that the Swiss glaciers may be completely gone by the turn of the century, if measures are not taken against global warming.
– We have seen such strong climate changes in recent years that it is really possible to imagine this country without glaciers, says Huss.
Vadret da Tschierva and Piz Roseg (tv) seen from Alp Ota in 1935 and 2022
VAW / ETH Zurich
He emphasizes that it is urgent to cut climate emissions.
– But even if the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees was reached, it would still only save a third of the Swiss glaciers. All the small glaciers will be gone anyway, and the big glaciers will be much smaller than today, he says. Huss adds:
– There will still be ice left in the highest areas of the Alps, and some glaciers we can show our grandchildren.
2023-09-29 09:23:29
#glaciers #Swiss #Alps #melting
