seventh April 2024
That’s the discovering from the Austrian Alpine Membership in a current report. Glaciers throughout the Alps are melting because the temperature rises at twice the worldwide common. NEW
The newest report mentioned that, of the 93 glaciers in Austria it measured and noticed, all however one shrank in 2022-2023.
The 79 glaciers measured each final 12 months and the earlier 12 months had been a mean 23.9 meters shorter than a 12 months earlier, it mentioned in its annual report.
That was the third-highest determine of shrinkage in each the membership’s 133 years of measurements and up to now seven years.
The retreat of 14 different glaciers was noticed much less exactly, for instance by evaluating images.
The largest retreat was that of Austria’s greatest glacier — the Pasterze, within the Glockner mountain group within the southern province of Carinthia.
It receded by 203.5 meters.
It was adopted by the Rettenbachferner within the Ötztal with 127.0 meters and the Gepatschferner which misplaced 67m in size.
High Ten Receding Glaciers in Austria
1 Pasterze (Carinthia, Glockner group) -203.52 Rettenbachferner (Tirol, Ötztal Alps) -127.03 Sexergertenferner (Tirol, Ötztal Alps) -93.74 Schlatenkees (Tirol, Venice Group) -92.85 Fernauferner (Tirol, Stubai Alps) -68.06 Gepatschferner (Tirol, Ötztal Alps) -67.07 Freiwandkees (Tirol, Glockner Group) -65.88 Marzellferner (Tirol, Ötztal Alps) -49.99 Frosnitzkees (Tirol, Venice group) -46.010 Alpeinerferner (Tirol, Stubai Alps) -43.4
Hintertux glacier, Austria.Picture © PlanetSKI
Gerhard Lieb, the co-leader of the membership’s glacier measurement service, mentioned Austria’s glaciers can now not be saved and their disappearance within the coming a long time is “unstoppable.”
He works on the College of Graz’s geography institute.
Austria has the best variety of glacier ski resorts within the Alps and PlanetSKI usually begins its season in them in October & November.
Then finishes the ski season in April or Could.
Kaunertal, the Tirol, Austria. Picture © PlanetSKI
The method of forming snow reserves on the higher ends of glaciers in order that they’ll stabilise takes a long time, “and the time is up,” added Gerhard Lieb.
“Which means nothing might be carried out anymore.”
“There may be some remnants in shadowed places — perhaps on the Glockner glacier on the north-east facet, some areas within the Oetztal valley,” mentioned the service’s different co-leader, Andreas Kellerer-Pirklbauer.
“However de facto, in 40 to 45 years all of Austria will likely be just about ice-free.”
Hintertux glacier, Austria.Picture © PlanetSKI
Final 12 months’s common determine for glacier retreat fell in need of the report set in 2021-2022 of 28.7 meters (94.2 ft).
However no glacier receded by greater than 100 meters that 12 months, and two did within the newest report.
The melting of the glaciers is likely one of the most notable indications of local weather change, with glaciers around the globe quickly retreating.
Consultants in neighboring Switzerland mentioned in September that that nation noticed 4% of its whole glacier quantity disappear in 2023, the second-biggest decline in a single 12 months on prime of a 6% drop in 2022.
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