Europe’s Glaciers Vanishing at Record Pace, Scientists Warn
Morteratsch, Switzerland High in the Alps, the path to the Morteratsch Glacier grows longer every year as ice continues to retreat at alarming speed. What was once a solid wall of frozen mass is now a valley of rock, meltwater, and unstable terrain.Leo Hösli, a researcher studying the glacier, has watched the transformation up close. Earlier this summer, he tried to measure the ice caves with markers he had placed months earlier. By August, most of those stakes had disappeared melted away or buried under collapsing ice.“It’s just too warm for the glacier to exist at this state right now,” Hösli said.
Europe’s glaciers are shrinking faster than anywhere else on Earth. A landmark study in Nature found glaciers in the Alps and Pyrenees have lost about 40% of their mass since 2000. The years 2022 and 2023 set new records for ice loss, coinciding with unprecedented global heat.
The Morteratsch Glacier has receded more than two miles in 165 years, becoming one of the world’s most closely monitored indicators of climate change. Visitors hiking the route can see signposts marking where the ice once stood reminders of how quickly the landscape is transforming.
Glaciers aren’t just natural wonders. They sustain agriculture, tourism, and provide critical drinking water across Europe. Their disappearance is destabilizing the mountains, triggering landslides that endanger villages. In May, the Swiss town of Blatten was destroyed by a glacial slide.
In Austria, Andrea Fischer of the Academy of Sciences warns that one-third of the country’s glaciers will vanish within five years. The Stubai Glacier, one of Austria’s most popular ski destinations, is projected to disappear entirely by 2033.“The end of the Alpine glaciers is really coming very, very close,” Fischer said. “It’s not a computer model. It’s happening in front of our eyes.”
Global warming has already raised Austria’s temperatures by 3.1°C since 1900, more than twice the world average. And despite experimental efforts to slow the melt like snowmaking or covering ice with reflective sheets scientists now say only major cuts to greenhouse gas emissions can preserve what remains.“There is no possibility to save glaciers without saving the climate,” Fischer said.
Still, researchers stress it’s not too late. Vast amounts of ice remain, and action now could slow further loss.“It’s not a completely lost cause,” Hösli said, glancing up at Morteratsch’s shrinking mass. “There’s still something we can do. It’s too early to give up.”
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