Business in Blatten: Climate change ensures dangerous changes!

Business in Blatten: Climate change ensures dangerous changes!

On May 29, 2025, there was a dramatic drop in glacier in Switzerland, which spilled parts of the village of Blatten. The causes of this landslide were explained in more detail by Jan Beutel, Professor of High Alpine Cryosphere at the University of Innsbruck. Beutel, who has been in charge of research projects in Valais for almost 20 years, pointed out that climate change brings profound changes in the high mountains. His research shows that the decline in ice leads to the instability of the mountains, which increases the likelihood of such natural events.

The clash occurred on Wednesday at 3:24 p.m. According to a first analysis of the Swiss Earth Bond Service (SED), the event had a strength of M = 3.1 on the Richter scale. For comparison: A similar event, the Piz Cengalo-Erdbieben in 2017, reached a strength of M = 3.0. Beutel explains that the encounter of erosion by water and wind, reinforced by the dew of the ice, contributes to the instability of the terrain.

The role of the permafrost

The warming of the climate means that the permafrost - the permanently frozen soil - thaws with a rate of about 0.1 degrees Celsius per decade. This change significantly affects the stability of rock samples, the loss can be up to 80 percent. In conjunction with clamps, the breaking rock material, which is turned into liquid water when it is opened on glacier, can slide faster and further down the valley. This liquefied mass brings enormous destructive forces and can block valley -near water.

On June 11, 2023, a clash in the Tyrolean Silvretta Mountains showed similar alarming developments. Part of the escape horn broke off here; A scree avalanche that was two kilometers long transported more than 100,000 cubic meters of rock. Tyrol's chief geologist Thomas Figl found that the dwindling permafrost layer was responsible for this fall. At high altitudes over 3000 meters, experts observe an increase in rock and clamping, which increases urgency to develop early warning systems in alpine space.

reinforcement by weather phenomena

The threat from the mountain storts not only increases due to climate change, but is also accelerated by weather phenomena such as heavy rain. Studies have shown that rain can accelerate the movements of mountains by five to seven times. On the night of June 16, 2023, a rock fall in the Swiss canton of Graubünden, which stopped just a few meters in front of a school building. There are no permafrost layers in this area, but the mountain moved due to the continuing rain and was mandatory for the evacuation of 80 inhabitants.

Another potential rock fall threatens on the Hochvogel in Bavaria, where a gap in the summit continuously increases. Experts estimate that there could be 260,000 cubic meters of rock there, which significantly increases the risks for the surrounding communities. Even if rock falls in the Alps are a natural appearance, climate change and weather extremes reinforce these natural hazards and represent a serious threat to the safety of the population and mountain tourism.

The comprehensive research and observations illustrate the need to take measures to protect people and better monitor the endangered regions. The developments in research and planning early warning systems are therefore of the greatest importance.

bags are currently examining the interactions between rocks, permafrost and climate in an open-air laboratory on the Matterhorn to enable a quantitative understanding of climate change in the high mountains. This will help to better classify future natural hazards and to plan corresponding protective measures.

For more information: Dolomitenstadt , Tagesschau , Alpen-guide .