Alarming report

Glaciers are dying faster than almost ever before

The supposedly eternal ice in the Alps is increasingly falling victim to climate change.

(Bild: ÖAV Gletschermessdienst/ Klaus Reingruber)

The Austrian Alpine Association has presented shocking facts about the state of the country's glaciers: On average, the "eternal" ice receded by 24.1 meters in the current measurement period. The Sexegertenferner even lost 227.5 meters - an all-time negative record! 

The glacier report presented by the Austrian Alpine Association in Innsbruck on Friday once again set alarm bells ringing: Almost all of the 90 glaciers scrutinized in Austria retreated in the 2023/24 glacier budget year. "With the exception of two months, it was far too warm, by an average of 1.9 degrees," said Andreas Kellerer-Pirklbauer, one of the heads of the ÖAV glacier measurement service together with Gerhard Lieb.

Unfortunately, snowfall in summer never prevented the melting.

Gerhard Lieb, Gletschermesser ÖAV

Bild: APA/EXPA

Much too warm and too dry
The exceptionally high temperatures in combination with drought were decisive for the devastating development that has been going on for years now. "Unfortunately, snowfall in summer never prevented the melting either," Lieb lamented.

The 24.1 meters of average length loss represent the third-highest value in the 134-year history of the glacier measurement service. The Sexegertenferner glacier in the Ötztal Alps was hit harder than any other glacier before. It lost an incredible 227.5 meters! In second place is the Taschachferner (176 meters), followed by the Gepatschferner (104 m, both also in the Ötztal Alps).

The Sexegertenferner is only a shadow of its former self.

(Bild: ÖAV Gletschermessdienst/Bernd Noggler)

Pasterze lost 66 meters
Austria's largest glacier, the Pasterze (Glockner Group), lost 66.3 meters. "The tongue of the Pasterze also collapsed by more than seven meters," explained Kellerer-Pirklbauer. This corresponds to the content of a cube with an edge length of around 235 meters.

The tongue of the Pasterze also collapsed by more than seven meters.

Gerhard Kellerer-Pirklbauer, Gletschermesser ÖAV

Bild: Wallner Hannes

The volunteer surveyors took a close look at 90 glaciers.

(Bild: Alpenverein Peter Neuner-Knabl)

Alpine glaciers will only be around for a maximum of 50 years
In 40 to 50 years, the glaciers in Austria will have disappeared completely - as a result of global warming caused by human activity. Gerhard Lieb emphasized that sensitive ecosystems would emerge in the glacier forefields that are now empty and that their protection - together with the glaciers - is the order of the day. Protected areas must be extended to these areas on a mandatory basis.

World Glacier Day on March 21
Incidentally, the United Nations has declared 2025 the "International Year of Glacier Conservation". "World Glacier Day" will be celebrated for the first time on March 21.