Rhone glacier in peril: Striking photo comparison reveals rapid melt

We have just experienced a series of the hottest months in recorded history. Unfortunately, July continued this trend. Rising temperatures are causing glaciers to disappear at an alarming rate. Just compare two photos taken by British tourists in Switzerland. The changes are visible to the naked eye.

The vanishing of glaciers is a global problem, evident in the mountains of Europe, Asia, and South America. Where just a few years ago, there were thick layers of ice; today, bare rocks are shining. To understand the rapidity of this process, just compare photos of the Rhone Glacier in Switzerland posted on the X portal by Duncan Porter.

Although the photos taken on the viewing platform of the Rhone Glacier were taken only 15 years apart, the difference behind the Bristol couple is astonishing. "Not gonna lie, it made me cry," Porter wrote in a comment to the photos. It's hard to blame him. In 2009, behind the couple was a thick layer of ice glistening in the sun, with only a few bare rocks peeking through here and there.

It took just 15 years for the scenery to change completely. Where there was a thick layer of ice not so long ago, today there is a small lake. A thin tongue of greyish ice lingers somewhere in the distance, fading against the bare rocks that dominate the entire landscape.

As the Deutsche Welle portal reminds us, the Swiss glacier has slowly melted since the mid-19th century. Initially, this process was related to the end of the Little Ice Age, which brought lower temperatures to the globe. Unfortunately, the melting process has dramatically accelerated in recent years, and the glacier's tongue is retreating at an alarming pace. This is the unfortunate result of climate changes caused by human activity.

As early as 2008, scientists from the Federal Polytechnic Schools in Lausanne and Zurich warned that by the end of this century, the Rhone Glacier could disappear altogether. Computer simulations conducted by scientists indicated that, in the worst case, the Rhone Glacier would completely vanish by 2080.

The prospects are terrifying. According to a joint report by the European climate agency Copernicus and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), from April this year, just in the years 2022-2023, glaciers in the high mountains of Central Europe lost up to 10% of their volume. As temperatures rise, the rate of glacier melting will accelerate.