Austria's Glaciers Endure Yet Another Summer Of Strong Heat

INNERGSCHLOESS, AUSTRIA - AUGUST 20: A small piece of ice swims in a lake of meltwater in front of the tongue of the Schlatenkees glacier on August 20, 2023 near Innergschloess, Austria. According to data collected by the Austrian Alpine Association, the Schlatenkees retreated 89.5 meters in length in 2022 alone, more than any other of the 89 Austrian glaciers studied and well above the average annual retreat of preceding recent years. Higher than average monthly temperatures for June, July and August of this year recorded by GeoSphere Austria indicate the Schlatenkees is likely facing yet another summer of strong melting. While Austria's glaciers have been steadily receding since the Little Ice Age of the mid 19th-century, periods of intermittent glacier growth extended into the 1980s. Since then the glaciers have been receding rapidly, with the pace of melting having accelerated sharply in the last decade. Scientists blame global warming, which is extending and intensifying the summer melting season of glaciers in the European Alps. In addition, diminished annual snowfalls are leaving the glaciers more exposed to the sun and preventing the formation of new ice. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)