Austria's Glaciers Endure Yet Another Summer Of Strong Heat

HEILIGENBLUT, AUSTRIA - AUGUST 21: Visitors stand before the collapsed face of the Pasterze, Austria's biggest glacier, and a lake of meltwater at the end of the glacier tongue on August 21, 2023 near Heiligenblut, Austria. Higher than average monthly temperatures for June, July and August recorded by GeoSphere Austria indicate the Pasterze 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. According to data collected by the Austrian Alpine Association, the Pasterze retreated 87.4 meters in length in 2022 alone, well above the average annual 50 meters retreat of preceding recent years. 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)