The Swiss glaciers are melting at a record pace. In 2022, the glaciers will have lost more than 6 percent of their volume compared to the previous year. That is the strongest decline since measurements began more than a century ago, scientists from the Swiss Academy of Sciences write a study published Thursday. By 2023, 4 percent will have been lost. An ice loss of 2 percent is considered “extreme” by scientists.
“The acceleration is dramatic, with as much ice lost in just two years as was lost between 1960 and 1990,” the researchers said. “The two extreme years in succession led to the collapse of glacier tongues and the disappearance of many smaller glaciers.” Scientists have stopped measuring some small ice masses because they have all but disappeared.
The researchers cite snow shortages and persistent heat waves in 2022 as reasons for the rapid melting. Snow protects the glaciers from sunlight and high temperatures, but in 2022 less snow fell than normal in the region. The snow that lay there also melted about two to four times faster than in previous years due to the high temperatures. In addition, a large layer of dust from the Sahara made the snow less white and therefore reflected less sunlight, which also accelerated the melting of the snow.