The intense heatwave observed in Europe is causing glaciers in Switzerland to melt much faster than usual. Reuters reported this.
Scientists note that due to the high temperatures recorded since the beginning of summer and the low snowfall during the winter season, glaciers in the Alps are rapidly shrinking. Experts warn that this situation could lead to a significant loss of glacier volume this year as well.
It was reported that on June 29, the Rhone Glacier in southern Switzerland reached the "Glacier Wasting Day" stage. This means that the snow accumulated in winter has completely melted, and now the melting of the multi-year ice layers has begun.
Matthias Huss, head of the Swiss Glacier Monitoring Service, assessed this date as the second earliest in the history of observations. According to him, the volume of water melted from the glacier as a result of the two-week heatwave was very large.
Experts assess this process as a seriously concerning trend and emphasize that if high temperatures persist, the shrinkage of glaciers will intensify further.
