Latest news with #MatthiasHuss
Yahoo
19-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Scientists discover worrying phenomenon after drilling into glaciers: 'We need to be prepared'
Scientists discover worrying phenomenon after drilling into glaciers: 'We need to be prepared' Scientists tracking the loss of glaciers in the Swiss Alps have uncovered an alarming development regarding their disappearance, and it could have devastating implications for the future. What's happening? Most discussions about the loss of glaciers tend to focus on the polar ice caps, but Switzerland is rightly regarded as the undisputed European capital of glaciers. There are around 1,400 glaciers in the landlocked European nation that provide drinking water and irrigation for millions. As global temperatures rise, they're disappearing at an unsustainable rate. The Associated Press reported that 1,000 smaller glaciers have been lost, and things don't look better for the larger ones. Scientists tracking the glaciers are drilling holes to gain further insights, and they have uncovered an alarming detail. Typically, a glacier melts from the top, but as glaciologist Matthias Huss of the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich explained, they're also disappearing from the bottom. "In recent years we realized at several sites that there is a substantive melt from the bottom," he said. "If there are some channels in the ice through which air is circulating, this can excavate big holes under the ice." Why is glacier loss so significant? Losing glaciers is bad enough, but the nature of the melt means there's another danger, and it has already occurred. In May, ancient ice from the Birch Glacier gave way, and Blatten, a tiny mountainside village, was destroyed in an instant. Fortunately, residents were evacuated ahead of time, but a village that had existed for 800 years is no more. Without action, many more homes could be lost forever. Up to two-thirds of the world's glaciers could be lost by the end of the century as the planet heats up from the use of dirty energy. Extreme weather events will become ever more common and destructive as a result. What's being done to protect glaciers? In the short term, the researchers are employing giant sheets to cover the glaciers and slow down the melt. In the long term, it's vital to bring down planet-heating pollution. Switzerland has made progress in this regard; the International Energy Agency reports the country has reduced its carbon dioxide emissions 24% since 2000, but more aggressive adoption of clean energy is needed worldwide. As Huss noted, Blatten's fate serves as a crucial warning of the dangers ahead and the importance of staying informed on the issues. "I think this is the main lesson to be learned, that we need to be prepared," he said. Do you worry about air pollution in your town? All the time Often Only sometimes Never Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet. Solve the daily Crossword
Malay Mail
05-07-2025
- Climate
- Malay Mail
Swiss glaciers face ‘alarming' early melt as tipping point arrives in July
GENEVA, July 5 — The snow and ice accumulated last winter by Switzerland's glaciers has already melted away, a monitoring service said, with Friday marking the alarming second-earliest arrival on record of the tipping point known as glacier loss day. All further melting between now and October will see the size of glaciers in the Swiss Alps shrink, according to Glacier Monitoring in Switzerland (GLAMOS). This century, the tipping point, on average, has been reached in mid-August—itself already bad news for the nation's 1,400 glaciers, which are shrinking at a staggering rate. Its arrival several weeks earlier on July 4 is 'another alarm call', GLAMOS chief Matthias Huss told AFP. 'It's like the glaciers are shouting out: 'We're disappearing. Help us.'' Glaciers in the Swiss Alps began to retreat about 170 years ago. The retreat was initially modest but in recent decades, melting has accelerated significantly as the climate warms. The volume of Swiss glaciers shrank by 38 percent between 2000 and 2024. Summer of destruction 'If we have a glacier loss day, it means that the glacier is losing mass,' said Huss. 'For a glacier that is healthy, the day would occur at the end of September, or in October—or not at all'. With no glacier loss day, the summer would simply melt away only the snow that accumulated over the previous winter. This would be 'the ideal case—a glacier in equilibrium with the climate', said Huss. Its arrival on July 4 means that 'critically, we have the whole summer left to destroy the ice'. 'Moving this day forward by five to six weeks before the normal date over the last 20 years means we're just prolonging this mass loss season dramatically,' he said. The assessment is made using 12 reference glaciers. Last winter saw low levels of snowfall, and June was the second warmest on record, contributing to the day's early arrival this year. In data going back to 2000, the only time that the tipping point arrived even earlier was in 2022, when it came on June 26. 'That was really a game-changer for us glaciologists because it was the first year when we saw absolutely extreme melting. 'Everything that we knew before about glacier melting changed,' said Huss. Experts thought 2022 was a complete outlier and although a warming climate meant other such years would be coming down the line, they did not expect to see the next very early glacier loss day coming so soon afterwards. Feedback effect Huss noted that extreme melting produces an accelerating feedback effect, worsening the situation even further. Once the reflective white snow coverage from winter is gone from the top of the glacier, the darker, more absorbent grey surface of the bare ice is exposed. 'With the same amount of solar radiation, we can now melt more ice,' Huss said. With the European heatwave over the past week and the possibility of further heatwaves in July and August, 'it is very like that again it is a very bad year for Swiss glaciers', he said. Melting glaciers threatens the long-term water security for millions of people downstream who rely on them for fresh water. Much of the water that flows into the Rhine and the Rhone, two of Europe's major rivers, comes from the Alpine glaciers. — AFP
Bangkok Post
04-07-2025
- Climate
- Bangkok Post
Meltdown: Swiss glaciers hit annual tipping point weeks early
GENEVA - The snow and ice accumulated last winter by Switzerland's glaciers has already melted away, a monitoring service said, with Friday marking the alarming second-earliest arrival on record of the tipping point known as 'glacier loss day'. All further melting between now and October will see the size of glaciers in the Swiss Alps shrink, according to Glacier Monitoring in Switzerland (Glamos). This century, the tipping point, on average, has been reached in mid-August — itself already bad news for the nation's 1,400 glaciers, which are shrinking at a staggering rate. Its arrival several weeks earlier on July 4 is 'another alarm call', Glamos chief Matthias Huss told AFP. 'It's like the glaciers are shouting out: 'We're disappearing. Help us.'' Glaciers in the Swiss Alps began to retreat about 170 years ago. The retreat was initially modest but in recent decades, melting has accelerated significantly as the climate warms. The volume of Swiss glaciers shrank by 38% between 2000 and 2024. Summer of destruction 'If we have a glacier loss day, it means that the glacier is losing mass,' said Huss. 'For a glacier that is healthy, the day would occur at the end of September, or in October — or not at all'. With no glacier loss day, the summer would simply melt away only the snow that accumulated over the previous winter. This would be 'the ideal case — a glacier in equilibrium with the climate', said Huss. Its arrival on July 4 means that 'critically, we have the whole summer left to destroy the ice'. 'Moving this day forward by five to six weeks before the normal date over the last 20 years means we're just prolonging this mass loss season dramatically,' he said. The assessment is made using 12 reference glaciers. Last winter saw low levels of snowfall, and June was the second warmest on record, contributing to the day's early arrival this year. In data going back to 2000, the only time that the tipping point arrived even earlier was in 2022, when it came on June 26. 'That was really a game-changer for us glaciologists because it was the first year when we saw absolutely extreme melting. 'Everything that we knew before about glacier melting changed,' said Huss. Experts thought 2022 was a complete outlier and although a warming climate meant other such years would be coming down the line, they did not expect to see the next very early glacier loss day coming so soon afterwards. Feedback effect Huss noted that extreme melting produces an accelerating feedback effect, worsening the situation even further. Once the reflective white snow coverage from winter is gone from the top of the glacier, the darker, more absorbent grey surface of the bare ice is exposed. 'With the same amount of solar radiation, we can now melt more ice,' Huss said. With the European heatwave over the past week and the possibility of further heatwaves in July and August, 'it is very like that again it is a very bad year for Swiss glaciers', he said. Melting glaciers threatens the long-term water security for millions of people downstream who rely on them for fresh water.
Time of India
04-07-2025
- Climate
- Time of India
Meltdown: Swiss glaciers hit annual tipping point weeks early
The snow and ice accumulated last winter by Switzerland's glaciers has already melted away, a monitoring service said, with Friday marking the alarming second-earliest arrival on record of the tipping point known as glacier loss day . All further melting between now and October will see the size of glaciers in the Swiss Alps shrink, according to Glacier Monitoring in Switzerland (GLAMOS). This century, the tipping point, on average, has been reached in mid-August -- itself already bad news for the nation's 1,400 glaciers, which are shrinking at a staggering rate. Its arrival several weeks earlier on July 4 is "another alarm call", GLAMOS chief Matthias Huss told AFP. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Trending in in 2025: Local network access control [Click Here] Esseps Learn More Undo "It's like the glaciers are shouting out: 'We're disappearing. Help us.'" Glaciers in the Swiss Alps began to retreat about 170 years ago. The retreat was initially modest but in recent decades, melting has accelerated significantly as the climate warms. The volume of Swiss glaciers shrank by 38 percent between 2000 and 2024. Summer of destruction "If we have a glacier loss day, it means that the glacier is losing mass," said Huss. "For a glacier that is healthy, the day would occur at the end of September, or in October -- or not at all". With no glacier loss day, the summer would simply melt away only the snow that accumulated over the previous winter. This would be "the ideal case -- a glacier in equilibrium with the climate", said Huss. Its arrival on July 4 means that "critically, we have the whole summer left to destroy the ice". "Moving this day forward by five to six weeks before the normal date over the last 20 years means we're just prolonging this mass loss season dramatically," he said. The assessment is made using 12 reference glaciers. Last winter saw low levels of snowfall, and June was the second warmest on record, contributing to the day's early arrival this year. In data going back to 2000, the only time that the tipping point arrived even earlier was in 2022, when it came on June 26. "That was really a game-changer for us glaciologists because it was the first year when we saw absolutely extreme melting. "Everything that we knew before about glacier melting changed," said Huss. Experts thought 2022 was a complete outlier and although a warming climate meant other such years would be coming down the line, they did not expect to see the next very early glacier loss day coming so soon afterwards. Feedback effect Huss noted that extreme melting produces an accelerating feedback effect, worsening the situation even further. Once the reflective white snow coverage from winter is gone from the top of the glacier, the darker, more absorbent grey surface of the bare ice is exposed. "With the same amount of solar radiation, we can now melt more ice," Huss said. With the European heatwave over the past week and the possibility of further heatwaves in July and August, "it is very like that again it is a very bad year for Swiss glaciers", he said. Melting glaciers threatens the long-term water security for millions of people downstream who rely on them for fresh water. Much of the water that flows into the Rhine and the Rhone, two of Europe's major rivers, comes from the Alpine glaciers .
Int'l Business Times
04-07-2025
- Climate
- Int'l Business Times
Meltdown: Swiss Glaciers Hit Annual Tipping Point Weeks Early
The snow and ice accumulated last winter by Switzerland's glaciers has already melted away, a monitoring service said, with Friday marking the alarming second-earliest arrival on record of the tipping point known as glacier loss day. All further melting between now and October will see the size of glaciers in the Swiss Alps shrink, according to Glacier Monitoring in Switzerland (GLAMOS). This century, the tipping point, on average, has been reached in mid-August -- itself already bad news for the nation's 1,400 glaciers, which are shrinking at a staggering rate. Its arrival several weeks earlier on July 4 is "another alarm call", GLAMOS chief Matthias Huss told AFP. "It's like the glaciers are shouting out: 'We're disappearing. Help us.'" Glaciers in the Swiss Alps began to retreat about 170 years ago. The retreat was initially modest but in recent decades, melting has accelerated significantly as the climate warms. The volume of Swiss glaciers shrank by 38 percent between 2000 and 2024. "If we have a glacier loss day, it means that the glacier is losing mass," said Huss. "For a glacier that is healthy, the day would occur at the end of September, or in October -- or not at all". With no glacier loss day, the summer would simply melt away only the snow that accumulated over the previous winter. This would be "the ideal case -- a glacier in equilibrium with the climate", said Huss. Its arrival on July 4 means that "critically, we have the whole summer left to destroy the ice". "Moving this day forward by five to six weeks before the normal date over the last 20 years means we're just prolonging this mass loss season dramatically," he said. The assessment is made using 12 reference glaciers. Last winter saw low levels of snowfall, and June was the second warmest on record, contributing to the day's early arrival this year. In data going back to 2000, the only time that the tipping point arrived even earlier was in 2022, when it came on June 26. "That was really a game-changer for us glaciologists because it was the first year when we saw absolutely extreme melting. "Everything that we knew before about glacier melting changed," said Huss. Experts thought 2022 was a complete outlier and although a warming climate meant other such years would be coming down the line, they did not expect to see the next very early glacier loss day coming so soon afterwards. Huss noted that extreme melting produces an accelerating feedback effect, worsening the situation even further. Once the reflective white snow coverage from winter is gone from the top of the glacier, the darker, more absorbent grey surface of the bare ice is exposed. "With the same amount of solar radiation, we can now melt more ice," Huss said. With the European heatwave over the past week and the possibility of further heatwaves in July and August, "it is very like that again it is a very bad year for Swiss glaciers", he said. Melting glaciers threatens the long-term water security for millions of people downstream who rely on them for fresh water. Much of the water that flows into the Rhine and the Rhone, two of Europe's major rivers, comes from the Alpine glaciers. The Rhone Glacier in July 2015 (top) and September 2024 (bottom) AFP Huss and colleagues on the Gries glacier in 2022 AFP
