The Triglav Glacier in Slovenia, which scientists have been studying since 1946, has shrunk to several patches of ice and may disappear completely within the next few days. Researchers attribute this to climate change and unusually early snowmelt. Reuters reports, writes UNN.
Details
For years, the Triglav Glacier attracted skiers in the summer and has been revered for many generations as a symbol of Slovenia’s alpine heritage.
Scientists have been monitoring the Triglav Glacier since 1946, when it covered about 14 hectares. In recent years, it has effectively ceased to be a glacier in the full sense of the word, meaning that new ice has no longer been forming in it.
"Everything indicates that the very last remnants of ice will literally disappear within the next few days," said Miha Pavšek of the Anton Melik Geographical Institute at the Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts.
As climate change intensifies, the glacier received less snow than usual last winter, and the snow cover melted unusually early. As a result, the remaining ice was exposed to the summer heat for longer.
"Even a place sheltered from the wind and shaded can no longer save the remnants of these true glaciers," Pavšek said.
Across Europe, which is warming faster than any other continent, glaciers are shrinking.
Pavšek noted that the disappearance of glaciers in neighboring Austria could eventually lead to reduced water flows in the basins of the Drava and Mura rivers, which are important sources of irrigation in Slovenia.