Swiss glaciers under threat again as heat wave drives zero-temperature level to record high
The Swiss weather service says a heat wave has driven the zero-degree Celsius level to its highest altitude since recordings on it in Switzerland began nearly 70 years ago, a new ominous sign for the country’s vaunted glaciers
Swiss glaciers under threat again as heat wave drives zero-temperature level to record high
Show all 3Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The Swiss weather service said Monday a heat wave has driven the zero-degree Celsius level to its highest altitude since recordings on it in Switzerland began nearly 70 years ago, an ominous new sign for the country's vaunted glaciers.
MeteoSwiss says the zero-degree isotherm level reached 5,298 meters (17,381 feet) above sea level over Switzerland overnight Sunday to Monday. All of Switzerland's snow-capped Alpine peaks — the highest being the 4,634-meter (15,203-foot) Monte Rosa summit — were in air temperatures over the level where water freezes to ice, raising prospects of a thaw.
Even Mont Blanc, Europe's highest mountain along the Italian-French border at some 4,809 meters (15,800 feet), is affected, the weather agency said based on readings from its weather balloons.
The new high altitude eclipsed a previous record set in July 2022, a year that experts say was particularly devastating for the glaciers of Switzerland. Readings have been taken on the zero-degree altitude level since 1954.
“An exceptionally powerful anticyclone and warm air of subtropical origin are currently ensuring scorching weather over the country,” MeteoSwiss said on its website, adding that many measuring stations in Switzerland have set new temperature records in the second half of August.
MeteoSwiss meterologist Mikhaël Schwander said it marked only the third time such readings had been tallied above 5,000 meters — and that the level was generally around 3,500 to 4,000 meters in a typical summer.
“With a zero-degree isotherm far above 5,000m (meters above sea level), all glaciers in the Alps are exposed to melt — up to their highest altitudes," said Daniel Farinotti, a glaciologist at the federal technical university in Zurich, ETHZ, in an email. “Such events are rare and detrimental to the glaciers’ health, as they live from snow being accumulated at high altitudes.”
"If such conditions persist in the longer term, glaciers are set to be lost irreversibly,” he said.
A Swiss study last year found that the country's 1,400-odd glaciers — the most in Europe — had lost more than half their total volume since the early 1930s, including a 12-percent decline over the previous six years alone.
___
Follow AP’s climate and environment coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.