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Hornkees in the Zillertal Alps: On average, the glaciers in Austria retreated 23.9 meters
Photo: Sean Gallup / Getty Images
According to researchers, Austria's glaciers will have practically disappeared in just a few decades. "In 40 to 45 years, Austria will be largely ice-free," said Andreas Kellerer-Pirklbauer from the Institute for Geography and Spatial Research at the University of Graz on Friday.
Of the 93 glaciers observed, all but one would have lost length from 2022 to 2023. The decline in the Pasterze at the foot of the Großglockner is particularly clear: a loss of 203.5 meters was measured here, as shown in the current glacier report by the Austrian Alpine Association (ÖAV), which was presented in Salzburg. The 203 meters means a loss of 14.03 million cubic meters of ice.
“Nothing works here anymore”
On average, the 93 glaciers retreated by 23.9 meters in the last observation year, which is the third highest value in the 133-year history of the Alpine Club's measurements. The decline was even greater in 2021/22 at 28.7 meters and in 2016/17 at 25.2 meters. This means that all three maximum values were registered in just seven years.
According to experts, the end of the glaciers in Austria can no longer be prevented in view of climate change. “The system is too sluggish,” said Gerhard Karl Lieb from the ÖAV glacier measuring service. “Nothing works here anymore.” Restrictive climate protection measures would also come too late. On a global level, however, there is still something to be achieved.
The Swiss glaciers are also disappearing. In autumn 2023, the Swiss Commission for Cryosphere Observation (SKK) announced to the Academy of Natural Sciences with a view to 2022 and 2023: The glaciers in Switzerland have shrunk by ten percent in just two years - and thus as much as in the three decades from 1960 taken together until 1990.
Climate change is also leaving its mark in other parts of the world: In March 2024, experts reported that New Zealand's glaciers were shrinking significantly faster than long assumed. New Zealand's breathtaking landscape is about to change fundamentally.
jme/dpa