Schwarzmilzferner, the last glacier in the Allgäu region of the Alps, is no longer considered a glacier following this year’s hot summer. Its change in status is another sign of the impact of global warming.
According to German media, high summer temperatures have reduced the thickness of Schwarzmilzferner’s ice by more than four metres and its volume by about half.
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Researchers explain that continuous movement down a slope is one of the main requirements for a mass of ice to be classified as a glacier.
Glaciologist Mayer, who has monitored Schwarzmilzferner for years, warns that its ice could disappear completely after next summer.
Schwarzmilzferner is not the only case. According to Mayer, high temperatures and the continuing loss of ice mean that several small glaciers disappear in the Alps every year.
Rapid shrinkage is also threatening the four remaining glaciers in Germany. Researchers say that even heavy winter snowfall can no longer replace the ice lost, while summer heat accelerates the melting.
