Snowy mountains are "hot" warning! The Alps are experiencing the most outrageous glacier melting in 60 years!

The Alps is a famous ski resort and the cradle of glaciology. However, due to global warming, it is experiencing the largest glacier melting in nearly 60 years. For example, the end of the Morteratsch Glacier in Switzerland is retreating at a rate of about 5 centimeters per day. The current position of the ice tongue has retreated nearly 3 kilometers compared with the position recorded on the local tourist map, and the thickness of the glacier has also decreased by 200 meters.

In 2022, local media reported that the temperature in the Alps is currently rising at a rate of 0.3°C per decade, about twice the rate of global average temperature rise. Some experts predict that if greenhouse gas emissions continue to increase, the size of the Alps glaciers is expected to decrease by more than 80% by 2100.

Snow scene in the Alps (picture from Tuchong.com)

In fact, it is not just the Alps. Several major glacier development areas around the world, such as the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in Asia, the Rocky Mountains in North America, and the Andes Mountains in South America, are all melting dramatically due to global warming. Taking the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau as an example, in the past 60 years, the average temperature rise rate in the Everest region is about 0.34℃ per decade, which is even slightly higher than the temperature rise rate in the Alps.

Why are these high-altitude areas warming faster than the global average? The main reason is that white snow and ice can reflect heat, but if the glaciers melt, the exposed part of the surface will reflect less of the sun, which will cause the surface to absorb more heat and the temperature will rise faster than other places. This is the same reason why we absorb more heat when we wear black clothes than white clothes.

Under the continued high temperature, Matterhorn, the most famous ski resort in the Alps, has suspended skiing activities in the second half of 2022, and some hiking routes in scenic spots have also been banned. In the Matterhorn mountain area, there is an Italian restaurant located on the border between Italy and Switzerland, called "Guide Refuge Hut". The center line of the glacier here used to be the border between the two countries, but as the glaciers continue to disappear, most of this restaurant is already on the Swiss side. If this continues, will ski resorts such as Matterhorn be able to open smoothly? Will there be no snow to ski in the Alps in the future?

Is there a way to reverse this trend? From a scientific point of view, even if we press the brakes on greenhouse gas emissions, the disasters caused by global warming will not disappear immediately in a short period of time, but fortunately we can still use science and technology to deal with and solve a series of chain reactions caused by the melting of glaciers, which is also what we must do for long-term considerations. Although it is full of challenges, isn’t the history of human social development a history of constantly overcoming various challenges and difficulties?

Therefore, in the face of the climate crisis, humanity has no choice but to face it positively.

This article is a work supported by Science Popularization China Starry Sky Project

Author: Duan Yulong

Review: Yang Wei

Produced by: China Association for Science and Technology Department of Science Popularization

Producer: China Science and Technology Press Co., Ltd., Beijing Zhongke Xinghe Culture Media Co., Ltd.