Record-breaking heatwaves across Europe have caused glaciers in Switzerland to melt rapidly this year, causing them to shrink rapidly.
This information was revealed in a report by the Swiss Glacier Monitoring Network (GLAMOS) and the Swiss Commission for Cryosphere Observation of the Swiss Academy of Sciences, published on Thursday (October 1).
The report says that more than 5 percent of Switzerland’s glaciers have melted this year.
The report also said that the rate of glacier shrinkage is accelerating. Excessive melting is becoming almost regular. In the last five years, Switzerland’s glaciers have lost about a fifth of their ice. This has raised concerns about future water supplies. Questions are also being raised about the long-term survival of Europe’s ice-covered areas.
“We have now entered a new reality where glaciers are disappearing before our eyes as the ice melts,” said Matthias Haas, director of Glamos.
He said that relatively little snowfall in winter and record temperatures in summer have caused a terrible amount of glacier ice to melt this year.
The director of Glamos said that now extreme conditions are seen almost every year. This is really worrying. However, he said that the ice is still not melting at the record rate of 2022. That year, the rate of ice melting was unprecedented because a dust cloud from North Africa accumulated on the snow.
Switzerland’s largest glacier, the Aletsch, has lost the most ice this year, while the average thickness of the Sonnefelen glacier has decreased by more than 4 meters. This would have been unimaginable even a few years ago, said Haas.
Researchers estimate that in the three months from July to September alone, Switzerland’s glaciers lost about 2.2 trillion liters of water. This is more than four times the amount of drinking water that households in the country use in a year.
There is also a positive side to the melting of glaciers. It plays a role in alleviating water shortages during the summer. However, as the size of glaciers and the area covered by them decreases, this benefit is also decreasing, said Haas.
“We know how fast the glaciers are melting, so we’re not surprised,” Matthias added. “But in places where there used to be snow on the mountains, now there are only rocks. It bothers me.”
Source: Reuters