As of: April 9, 2024, 4:58 a.m
By: Martina Lippl
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According to researchers, Austria will be without a glacier in around 40 years. The decline in paster ore at the foot of the Großglockner is particularly noticeable. © ÖAV Glacier Measurement Service / Andreas Kellerer-Pirklbauer
Things aren't looking good for Austria's glaciers. The ice masses are shrinking at a record pace - and hope is dwindling. Soon there could be no more glaciers.
Salzburg – The largest glacier in Austria – a “landmark of Austria” is melting dramatically: The Pasterze lost more than 200 meters in length and that in just one year. A negative record in the current glacier report from the Austrian Alpine Association (ÖAV). 92 of 93 of the observed glaciers have become smaller.
Austria in around 40 years without a glacier
“In 40 to 45 years, Austria will be virtually ice-free,” said Andreas Kellerer-Pirklbauer, from the Institute of Geography and Spatial Research at the University of Graz, when presenting the current glacier report. There could still be remnants of ice in some shady areas on the northeast sides or perhaps in the Ötztal.
Gerhard Karl Lieb from the ÖAV Glacier Measurement Service sums up the situation of the glaciers as “absolutely miserable”. The end of the glaciers in Austria can no longer be prevented in view of climate change.
“Nothing works here anymore.”
Glacier expert Gerhard Karl Lieb from the ÖAV glacier measurement service
“The system is too sluggish,” says glacier expert Lieb. “Nothing works here anymore.” Climate protection measures would come too late for the glaciers in Austria. Things also look bleak for Germany's glaciers. However, there is still something to be achieved on a global level, he admitted.
Massive loss on the largest glacier in Austria: 203.5 meters lost at the Pasterze at the foot of the Großglockner. © Luca Jänichen for POW/ÖAV
Austria's glaciers are shrinking - three peaks in just seven years
A team from the ÖAV has been measuring glacier ice surfaces on a voluntary basis for 133 years. According to the current annual glacier report, the ice giants in the twelve different mountain groups have become shorter on average by 23.9 meters.
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Glacier experts Dr. Andreas Kellerer-Pirklbauer (left) and Dr. Gerhard Lieb in action. © Simon Schoepf/ÖAV
There have already been higher average values, such as 2021/22 with 28.7 meters and 2016/17 with 25.2 meters. No glacier has retreated by more than 100 meters in previous years.
Austria's largest glacier loses more than 200 meters in length in one year
The paster ore at the Großglockner in Carinthia shrank enormously in the measurement period from August 2022 to October 2023. The glacier disappeared 203.5 meters in one year. Estimated loss at the glacier tongue: 14 million cubic meters of ice. At the Rettenbachferner in the Ötztal Alps in Tyrol, 127 meters melted. The five largest glacier retreats according to current statistics:
Austria glacier |
Ice loss in length |
Pasterze (Glockner Group) |
minus 203.5 meters |
Rettenbachferner (Ötztal Alps) |
minus 127 meters |
Sexegertenferner (Ötztal Alps) |
minus 93.7 meters |
Schlatenkees (Venediger group) |
minus 92.8 meters |
Fernauferner (Stubai Alps) |
minus 68 meters |
However, there is one exception: the Bärenkopfkees (Glockner group) remained stationary according to the volunteers' measurements. “This does not show a trend reversal, but rather a coincidence,” says glacier expert Lieb. Most likely, avalanche snow lingered on the glacier face for a little longer in the summer.
No hope for Austria's glacier
The pressure on the Alps from the climate is very high, emphasized Nicole Slupetzky, Vice President of the Alpine Association. The death of glaciers continues inexorably and can be seen with the naked eye, but new lifts are still being planned. Only seven percent of the Austrian landscape is untouched. This must be preserved. According to experts, the glaciers in the Alps play an important role in the water supply in Europe
.
From a completely different perspective, the “dramatic thawing process” on Austria’s glaciers harbors “unpredictable dangers”.
(ml/dpa)