* As thawing accelerates, Swiss glaciers lost 10% of their volume in the past 2 years
* One glacier had to stop being measured because it disappeared
* The thaw is irreversible
* Much of Europe’s drinking water comes from the glaciers
“The acceleration is dramatic, with as much ice being lost in only two years as was the case between 1960 and 1990. The two extreme consecutive years have led to glacier tongues collapsing and the disappearance of many smaller glaciers,” the Swiss Academy of Sciences said.
The AP reported:
Swiss meteorologists reported in August that the zero-degree Celsius level — the altitude where water freezes — had risen to its highest level ever recorded, at nearly 5,300 meters (17,400 feet), which means that all the Swiss Alpine peaks faced temperatures above freezing.
Matthias Huss, head of the GLAMOS glacier monitoring center, said, “Glaciers are the ambassadors of climate change. They make it very clear what is happening out there because they respond in a very sensitive way to warming temperatures. The study underlines once again that there is big urgency to act now if you want to stabilize (the) climate, and if you want to save at least some of the glaciers.”
“And once we have destabilized ice sheets, there will be no stable coastline for centuries. I repeat: There will be no stable coastline for centuries. I apologize to the children,” said Sidd Mukherjee in the paper Longthaw.
Also see:
Climate Change: Rate of Acceleration Brouse and Mukherjee (2023)
Sea-level Rise Mukherjee and Brouse (2022 and 2023)
Climate Change: How Long Is “Ever”? Brouse (2023)