Europe’s Glaciers Melted at Record Rate After Double Whammy
U.N. report finds Swiss glaciers lost 6% of their volume in 2022
European glaciers lost a record amount of mass over the past two years from a one-two punch of below-normal snowfall and warmer temperatures, international climate scientists said.
The retreating snowpack threatens supplies of freshwater to cities and farms throughout the Alps watershed, but it is also lengthening the region’s summer tourism season.
The World Meteorological Organization, a scientific arm of the United Nations, said Friday that glaciers across Europe shrank from a combination of little winter snow and heat waves between May and September. In addition, dust blown from the Sahara in March 2022 landed on the snow, absorbing the sun’s rays and increasing the amount of melting, the report said.
“Europe actually got hit hard both ways last year,” said Blair Trewin, a climate scientist at the WMO and an author of the new report. “They had an unusually dry winter, which meant that you didn’t have as much snow accumulating at high elevations as you normally would. But then they had a very hot summer as well.”
Trickle Down
Swiss glaciers have experienced record melting
Difference each year between melting ice and accumulation of snow/precipitation from 2018 to 2022 for select glaciers
Bern
Glaciers
Switzerland
Corbassière
2018
’22
0 in.
-50
Lausanne
-100
Rhône
Aletsch
France
Allalin
Findel
Italy
25 miles
25 km
Bern
Glaciers
Aletsch
2018
’22
0 in.
-50
-100
Rhône
-150
Switzerland
Findel
Allalin
Corbassière
Italy
25 miles
25 km
Aletsch
2018
’22
Glaciers
0 in.
-50
-100
Rhône
-150
Switzerland
Allalin
Findel
Corbassière
Italy
For the first time since record-keeping began, no snow survived the summer melt season at some of the highest measurement sites. As a result, those glaciers lost their source of ice. Record temperatures were reported from the summit of Mont Blanc, the peak that straddles France and Italy.
In Iceland and northern Norway, however, a cool summer led to more precipitation and a small gain in glacial mass, according to the report.
In 2022, Switzerland’s glaciers lost 6% of their volume. Since 2001, those glaciers have shrunk by one-third, the report said.
In July 2022, a weather balloon launched from Payerne, Switzerland, detected air temperature of 32 degrees Fahrenheit at 17,007 feet, the highest altitude in the 69-year records have been kept and only the second time that the height of the 32-degree freezing line exceeded 5,000 meters (16,404 feet), the report said.
The WMO report found that concentrations of atmospheric greenhouse gas reached record levels and contributed to warming of the land and ocean, melting ice sheets and glaciers, rising sea levels and acidifying oceans. These are the same conclusions reached in March in the latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
The WMO’s data set of 40 reference glaciers throughout the globe for which there are long-term observations lost an average of 4.3 feet from 2021 to 2022, much larger than the average loss over the past decade. Since 1970, this group of reference glaciers have lost nearly 100 feet of thickness, according to the report.
Glaciers collect snowfall during the winter and release water during the spring and summer. Once the glacier is gone, residents lose a resource vital for drinking water, irrigation and the production of hydroelectricity, Dr. Trewin said.
Dr. Trewin said seasonal forecasts suggest another warm summer in Europe lies ahead. “A lot of the ingredients are in place for an awfully large glacial melt in 2023,” he said.
This past winter, many European ski resorts faced a tough season because of the lack of snow, forcing some to close or move to higher altitudes.
For other businesses, the warming Alps mean a busier summer season. Euan Wilson runs mountain bike tours in some of the region’s iconic mountain passes. Snow-covered trails that used to require waiting until August or September to be clear are now accessible in July.
“You can definitely see the difference,” said Mr. Wilson, co-owner of H&I Adventures, based in Inverness, Scotland. “You can keep your guides busier and generate more income, but it comes with a massive downside which is climate change.”
Write to Eric Niiler at eric.niiler@wsj.com