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Austria's largest paste ore is in danger of disappearing in 40 years!
Discover the worrying ice melt of the Pasterze, Austria's largest glacier, and its consequences until 2050.
Austria's largest paste ore is in danger of disappearing in 40 years!
The Pasterze, known as Austria's largest glacier, is experiencing an alarming meltdown. According to the latest reports from orf.at The ice thickness has decreased by an impressive two meters on average in just one year, while in the last five years it has melted by as much as 25 meters! Experts from the Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics (ZAMG) warn that the striking glacier tongue could have almost completely disappeared by 2060.
The situation is exacerbated by the influence of climate change, which is causing more and more precipitation to fall as rain instead of snow at the highest altitudes, increasing the rate of melting. What is worrying is that the Pasterze only received one meter of fresh snow in winter, which had already disappeared on May 27th, as ZAMG expert Bernhard Hynek explained. In addition, the ice thickness in the lower area shows shocking losses of up to ten meters per year. Once one of the most impressive glaciers in the Alps, the geology of the Pasterze reveals traces of a time thousands of years ago when this region was green and forested.
Unstoppable melting
The ice thickness survey shows a frightening development: since 2022, the glacier has been melting at over two meters per year, which seals the fate of the Pasterze. In addition to the Pasterze, the glaciers on the Sonnblick also suffer similar losses. In the Hohe Tauern the decline is so dramatic that, according to forecasts by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), these glacier members could be reduced by up to 80 percent by the year 2100. This will jeopardize the unique features of this landscape for generations to come courier.at determines.
The retreat of glaciers can no longer be denied. More and more crevasses are breaking up on the Pasterze, while the maximum ice thickness is only around 230 meters. If this development continues, the glacier could soon be nothing more than a distant memory in Austria's history.