How much longer will glaciers survive?
How much longer will glaciers survive? A new study from ETH Zurich researchers offers the first detailed projection of how many glaciers could vanish by 2100 due to global warming – and why regions such as Switzerland will be most affected. This approach could also help policymakers, the tourism industry and natural hazard management plan for the future.
Glaciers are melting worldwide. In some regions, they could even disappear completely. Looking at the number of glaciers disappearing, the Alps could reach their peak loss rate as early as 2033 to 2041. Depending on how sharply the planet warms, this period may mark a time when more glaciers vanish than ever before. Worldwide, the peak glacier loss rate will occur about ten years later and could rise from 2,000 to 4,000 glaciers lost each year.
Read more at: University of Vermont
Hidden within the Morteratsch Glacier in Switzerland lies a large ice cave — a striking yet sobering sign of the ongoing and accelerating glacier disintegration leading to a reduction in the number of glaciers in the Alps and worldwide. (Photo Credit: Lander Van Tricht / ETH Zurich, Chair of Glaciology)
