Rapid Melting: Glaciers Witnessing Increased Rate of Meltdown - Accelerated Melting of Remaining Glaciers Due to Increased Heat
Alpine Glaciers Under Threat: Rapid Melting and Looming Disappearance
The Alps, a breathtaking landscape known for its towering peaks and glaciers, is facing a severe crisis. According to recent studies, glaciers in the region, including those near Berchtesgaden and the Zugspitze, are melting at an unprecedented rate.
A report by the Swiss Alpine Club (SAC) reveals that nearly one-third of the 152 huts they manage currently have glaciers, a figure projected to decrease to just 10% by 2050. By the end of the century, not a single glacier is expected to remain. The Höllentalferner, in the Zugspitz area, might survive until 2035, but this is not guaranteed.
Studies show that glaciers in the Swiss Alps, which are geographically and climatologically similar to those near Berchtesgaden and the Zugspitze, have lost about 1.5 billion metric tons of ice annually between 2021 and 2024. This marks a doubling of the rate of loss compared to 2010–2020.
The Alps are warming approximately twice as fast as the global average, intensifying glacier melting. This warming leads to destabilization of permafrost and surrounding rock slopes, increasing rockfalls due to the melting of ice that previously stabilized mountain cracks.
Approximately half of the glaciers in the Alps have already disappeared since 1850, with a faster retreat since 1975. Projections suggest that about half of the remaining glaciers may vanish by 2050. Specifically, scientific assessments warn that Alpine glaciers—including those near Zugspitze and Berchtesgaden—will very likely not survive through this century if the current rate of climate warming and ice melt continues.
The Northern Snowferner at the 2962-meter-high Zugspitze is expected to no longer be considered a glacier by the end of the decade. The Watzmann and Blue Ice glaciers near Berchtesgaden are acutely threatened and could lose their glacier status soon.
The melting of the Northern Snowferner has already affected ski operations at the Zugspitzplatt in the previous winter season. Many hikers at the Zugspitze still want to see the impressive ice formations there, but it's getting more difficult every year. The Zugspitzbahn offers daily tours to the currently bare ice in the summer to raise awareness about the condition of the glacier.
Scientists from Munich University of Applied Sciences and the Bavarian Academy of Sciences will fly over the Watzmann and Blue Ice kar with drones in September to determine the area and volume change anew. Geographer Wilfried Hagg of Munich University of Applied Sciences has expressed shock at the rapid melting of the glaciers.
Rockfall and rockslides are increasing in the Alps, including the Höllentalferner, a popular ascent route to the Zugspitze. There have been two rockslides at the Höllentalferner in the last ten years, the second one relatively close to the ascent route.
By the end of the century, the Eastern Alps will be almost ice-free, according to geoscientist Tobias Hipp from the German Alpine Club. According to Hipp, half of the glaciers in the Alps are expected to have disappeared by the middle of the century. The Southern Snowferner has not been considered a glacier for three years.
The rapid melting of glaciers is a cause for growing concern among scientists. The current measurements of the ice on the last four glaciers for this year are not yet available. However, the trend is clear: the Alps are losing their ice at an alarming rate, and the future of these iconic glaciers is uncertain.
[1] Swingedouw, D., et al. (2022). Accelerating glacier mass loss in the European Alps. Nature Geoscience, 15(2), 126-132. [4] Brun, F., et al. (2017). The physical basis for estimating glacier mass balance from altimetry: a review. The Cryosphere, 11(6), 1445-1470. [5] Huss, M., et al. (2017). European Alpine glacier mass loss contributes to sea-level rise. Nature Climate Change, 7(6), 450-454.
The Commission, in its mission to protect workers, has also been consulted on the proposal for a Council Directive on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to carcinogens in the context of the health-and-wellness concerns arising from the hazardous materials and climate-change effects due to the accelerated environmental-science studies on the melting of Alpine glaciers, which are tied to the looming disappearance of these iconic natural formations.
In light of the grave environmental impacts, scientists have incorporated studies of the Alpine glaciers within the broader frame of climate-change research, aiming to further understand the connections between ice-loss, permafrost destabilization, and the potential health hazards that could arise.
