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TimesLIVE
16-05-2025
- Climate
- TimesLIVE
Huge ice falls at Argentina's Perito Moreno glacier stir awe and concern
The deep cracking sound bursting from within the ice signals the dramatic fall about to happen. Seconds later, a block of ice 70m tall — the size of a 20-storey building — collapses from the face of the Perito Moreno glacier into the aquamarine water below. The sight has attracted visitors to Argentina's most famous glacier for years. Standing on platforms facing the ice, they wait for the next crack to split the cool Patagonian air. However, recently the size of the ice chunks breaking off, a process called 'calving', has been starting to alarm local guides and glaciologists, anxious about a prolonged retreat by Perito Moreno, which had bucked the trend in recent decades by maintaining its mass even as warmer climates spurred faster glacial melting worldwide. 'Ice calving events of this size haven't been very common at the Perito Moreno glacier over the past 20 years,' said Pablo Quinteros, an official tourist guide at Los Glaciares National Park in the southern province of Santa Cruz. 'It's only in the past four to six years that we've started to see icebergs this big,' he told Reuters during a visit in April. The face of the glacier, which flows down from Andean peaks to end in the waters of Lake Argentina, had for decades held more or less steady, some years advancing and others retreating. But in the past five years, there's been a firmer retreat. 'It had been in more or less the same position for the past 80 years. And that's unusual,' said Argentine glaciologist Lucas Ruiz with state science body Conicet, whose research focus is the future of Patagonian glaciers in the face of climate change. 'However, since 2020 signs of retreat have begun to be seen in some parts of the Perito Moreno glacier's face.' He said the glacier could rebound as it has done before, but for the moment it was losing between one and two metres of water equivalent per year, which if not reversed could lead to a situation where the loss accelerates. A state-backed 2024 report, co-authored by Ruiz and presented to Argentina's Congress, showed while Perito Moreno's mass has been overall stable for half a century, the period since 2015 has seen the fastest and most prolonged loss of mass in 47 years, on average losing 0.85m per year. Glaciers about the globe are disappearing faster than ever, with the last three-year period seeing the largest glacial mass loss on record, according to a Unesco report in March. Ruiz said instruments his research team used to monitor the glacier had shown an increase in air temperature in the area of about 0.06°C per decade and precipitation decreasing, meaning less accumulation of snow and ice. 'The thing with Perito Moreno is that it took a while to feel the effects of climate change,' Ruiz said. However, the accumulation of ice at the top of the glacier was being outpaced by melting and calving at the bottom. 'The changes we are seeing today clearly show this balance of forces has been disrupted, and today the glacier is losing in thickness and area.' The glacier remains an awe-inspiring attraction for travellers, who board boats to see the calving and the huge icebergs floating about the lake up close. 'It's insane. The most incredible thing I've ever seen,' said Brazilian tourist Giovanna Machado on the deck of one of the boats, which have to be careful of sudden ice falls. 'Even in photos, you can't grasp the immensity of it, and it's perfect. It's amazing. I think everyone should come here at least once in their lifetime.'
AsiaOne
16-05-2025
- Science
- AsiaOne
Huge ice falls at Argentina's Perito Moreno glacier stir awe and concern, World News
PERITO MORENO GLACIER, Argentina — The deep cracking sound bursting from within the ice signals the dramatic fall about to happen. Seconds later, a block of ice some 70 metres tall — the size of a 20-story building — collapses from the face of the Perito Moreno glacier into the aquamarine water below. The sight has attracted visitors to Argentina's most famous glacier for years. Standing on platforms facing the ice, they wait for the next crack to split the cool Patagonian air. But recently the size of the ice chunks breaking off — a process called "calving" — has been starting to alarm local guides and glaciologists, already anxious at a prolonged retreat by Perito Moreno, which had bucked the trend in recent decades by maintaining its mass even as warmer climates spurred faster glacial melting worldwide. "Ice calving events of this size haven't been very common at the Perito Moreno glacier over the past 20 years," said Pablo Quinteros, an official tourist guide at Los Glaciares National Park in the southern province of Santa Cruz. "It's only in the last four to six years that we've started to see icebergs this big," he told Reuters during a visit in April. The face of the glacier, which flows down from Andean peaks to end in the waters of Lake Argentina, had for decades held more or less steady, some years advancing and others retreating. But in the last five years, there's been a firmer retreat. "It had been in more or less the same position for the past 80 years. And that's unusual," said Argentine glaciologist Lucas Ruiz with state science body Conicet, whose research focus is the future of Patagonian glaciers in the face of climate change. "However, since 2020, signs of retreat have begun to be seen in some parts of the Perito Moreno glacier's face." He said that the glacier could rebound as it has done before, but that for the moment it was losing between one and two metres of water equivalent per year, which if not reversed could lead to a situation where the loss accelerates. A state-backed 2024 report, co-authored by Ruiz and presented to Argentina's Congress, showed that while Perito Moreno's mass has been overall stable for half a century, the period since 2015 has seen the fastest and most prolonged loss of mass in 47 years, on average losing 0.85 metres per year. Glaciers around the globe are disappearing faster than ever, with the last three-year period seeing the largest glacial mass loss on record, according to a Unesco report in March. 'You can't grasp the immensity of it' Ruiz said instruments his research team used to monitor the glacier had shown an increase in air temperature in the area of around 0.06 degrees Celsius per decade and precipitation decreasing, meaning less accumulation of snow and ice. "The thing with Perito Moreno is that it took a while, so to speak, to feel the effects of climate change," Ruiz said. Now, however, the accumulation of ice at the top of the glacier was being outpaced by melting and calving at the bottom. "The changes we are seeing today clearly show that this balance of forces... has been disrupted, and today the glacier is losing both in thickness and area." For now, the glacier remains an awe-inspiring attraction for travellers, who board boats to see the calving and the huge icebergs floating around the lake up close. "It's insane. The most incredible thing I've ever seen," said Brazilian tourist Giovanna Machado on the deck of one of the boats, which have to be careful of sudden ice falls. "Even in photos, you just can't grasp the immensity of it, and it's perfect. It's amazing. I think everyone should come here at least once in their lifetime." [[nid:715842]]
Straits Times
15-05-2025
- Climate
- Straits Times
Huge block of ice falls at Argentina's Perito Moreno glacier, stirring awe and concern
– The deep cracking sound bursting from within the ice signals the dramatic fall about to happen. Seconds later, a block of ice some 70 metres tall – the size of a 20-storey building – collapses from the face of the Perito Moreno glacier into the aquamarine water below. The sight has attracted visitors to Argentina's most famous glacier for years. Standing on platforms facing the ice, they wait for the next crack to split the cool Patagonian air. But recently the size of the ice chunks breaking off – a process called "calving" – has been starting to alarm local guides and glaciologists, already anxious at a prolonged retreat by Perito Moreno, which had bucked the trend in recent decades by maintaining its mass even as warmer climates spurred faster glacial melting worldwide. 'Ice calving events of this size haven't been very common at the Perito Moreno glacier over the past 20 years,' said Mr Pablo Quinteros, an official tourist guide at Los Glaciares National Park in the southern province of Santa Cruz. 'It's only in the last four to six years that we've started to see icebergs this big,' he told Reuters during a visit in April. The face of the glacier, which flows down from Andean peaks to end in the waters of Lake Argentina, had for decades held more or less steady, some years advancing and others retreating. But in the last five years, there's been a firmer retreat. 'It had been in more or less the same position for the past 80 years. And that's unusual,' said Argentine glaciologist Lucas Ruiz with state science body Conicet, whose research focus is the future of Patagonian glaciers in the face of climate change. 'However, since 2020, signs of retreat have begun to be seen in some parts of the Perito Moreno glacier's face.' He said that the glacier could rebound as it has done before, but that for the moment it was losing between one and two metres of water equivalent per year, which, if not reversed, could lead to a situation where the loss accelerates. A state-backed 2024 report, co-authored by Mr Ruiz and presented to Argentina's Congress, showed that while Perito Moreno's mass has been overall stable for half a century, the period since 2015 has seen the fastest and most prolonged loss of mass in 47 years, on average losing 0.85 metres per year. Glaciers around the globe are disappearing faster than ever, with the last three-year period seeing the largest glacial mass loss on record, according to a Unesco report in March. Mr Ruiz said instruments his research team used to monitor the glacier had shown an increase in air temperature in the area of around 0.06 deg C per decade and precipitation decreasing, meaning less accumulation of snow and ice. 'The thing with Perito Moreno is that it took a while, so to speak, to feel the effects of climate change,' Mr Ruiz said. Now, however, the accumulation of ice at the top of the glacier was being outpaced by melting and calving at the bottom. "The changes we are seeing today clearly show that this balance of forces... has been disrupted, and today the glacier is losing both in thickness and area." For now, the glacier remains an awe-inspiring attraction for travellers, who board boats to see the calving and the huge icebergs floating around the lake up close. 'It's insane. The most incredible thing I've ever seen,' said Brazilian tourist Giovanna Machado on the deck of one of the boats, which have to be careful of sudden ice falls. 'Even in photos, you just can't grasp the immensity of it, and it's perfect. It's amazing. I think everyone should come here at least once in their lifetime.' REUTERS Find out more about climate change and how it could affect you on the ST microsite here.
Kuwait Times
05-05-2025
- Business
- Kuwait Times
In Milei's Argentina ‘economic miracle', not everyone's a winner
BUENOS AIRES: Christian Bialogurski, 35, often spends 12 hours a day teaching communications classes at schools in the Buenos Aires suburbs, sometimes not eating until he returns home at night to save costs. The Argentine's monthly salary - in a good month the equivalent of $450 - covers his travel and rent of some $270, but little more. 'It's not enough. I don't have any money left by the 15th of the month. I sometimes ask my mom for food,' said Bialogurski in his modest suburban home in Loma Hermosa on the outskirts of Buenos Aires. 'You have to endure the hunger.' The policies of libertarian President Javier Milei have done much to stabilize Argentina's long turbulent economy. Its notoriously high inflation has cooled, its currency controls have been torn down and it has notched its first budget surplus in 14 years. Milei's supporters and many in the market have cheered it as an 'economic miracle.' But for some Argentines, adjusting to this new reality has been painful. Cuts to state spending have hit pension pots and public sector infrastructure projects. State workers, including teachers, have seen their incomes dwindle, as Milei has prioritized development of the private sector in industries like energy and mining. Public sector salaries fell over 15 percent in real terms in the year after Milei took office in December 2023, a report from local consultancy CTA Autonoma calculated. For those in the private sector, the news is better, with their salaries now outpacing inflation - up over the same period around 3.3 percent in real terms. 'Salaries aren't enough, and it's hard to make ends meet, but the drop in inflation in recent months has brought more predictability regarding expenses,' said Julieta Battaglia, a 43-year-old accountant in the private sector in Buenos Aires. 'Now at least prices don't all increase week by week.' Unemployment and poverty both spiked initially under Milei, but have since improved as the country emerged from recession. The jobless rate ended last year at 6.4 percent, slightly higher than when Milei took office. Argentina policy think-tank the IPyPP said that the rate of self-employed work has risen, however, creating a large group of people who in many cases lack social security, making them more vulnerable. Informal workers earn some 41 percent less than formal workers in the same sector, said Roxana Maurizio, a researcher specializing in employment at state science research council Conicet. For them, having a job was 'no insurance against poverty,' she added. That subtle weakening of the job market contributed to an over 10 percent drop in supermarket consumption last year, official data show, and has stoked unrest, with regular protests against austerity. 'If you add all the temporary jobs that lack social security and are very low-paying, unemployment in Argentina is not just some 7 percent, but rises to 30 percent,' said Agustín Salvia, a poverty expert at the Catholic University of Argentina. The Ministry of Labor did not respond to requests for comment from Reuters. Milei's administration has brushed off criticism, arguing that fiscal adjustment was essential and that as inflation has come down salaries are improving in real terms. As well as teachers and state workers, construction jobs have been hit by cuts to state spending on railways and roads, while deregulation to allow more imports has affected some local manufacturing of products like cars, as stiffer competition has eroded margins. — Reuters 'For new models, the costs we are now facing aren't totally competitive,' said Ramón Ramírez, executive director of auto parts maker Maxion Montich. 'So decisions are probably being made to import components rather than produce locally.' Protests have become a weekly event. In one in April, pensioners held up signs saying 'Retirees don't give up. Milei out.' 'My pension is 270,000 pesos ($251). It's not enough to buy meat or pay for utilities,' said 69-year-old retiree Ricardo Bouche. 'I can't even buy my medication. I had prostate cancer surgery two years ago, and they've left me without medicine.' – Reuters
