Glaciers over 3,000m can be preserved via better climate protection

Stronger global climate protection could preserve more than a quarter of the ice in the Swiss Alps, says the Swiss Academy of Natural Sciences (SCNAT). Glaciers above 3,000 metres could survive in the long term, it believes. + Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox On Friday, SCNAT published a fact sheet to mark the first World Glacier Day which presents the current state of knowledge about the melting of glaciers in the Alps, its consequences and the possible courses of action. Since 1850, an area of ice the size of canton Uri in central Switzerland has been lost, and more than 1,000 small glaciers have disappeared completely. The volume of glaciers has shrunk by almost 40% since 2000, and by a total of 10% for the years 2022 and 2023 alone. For the first time, research is taking these two record years into account in scenarios for the future of glaciers in the Alps. The as yet unpublished data shows that there is less room for manoeuvre than previously thought.