In this episode of Climate Now we ask how the Alps are changing as temperatures rise. Melting glaciers mean more sediment in rivers, including potentially harmful substances like uranium and nickel. The rising risk of rockfalls forces high mountain footpaths to be closed.
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00:00Hello and welcome to Climate Now, here from the Stubai Glacier in Austria, which is disappearing
00:10rapidly at the moment, and within 20 years all of this ice will be gone.
00:15So what impact is that having on this environment and in the valleys below?
00:20We have an increased risk of flooding, heavy rainfall, and destabilization of rock faces
00:27that can also affect the valley areas.
00:34Well, that's our story coming up, but first the very latest data from the Copernicus Climate
00:38Change Service, which shows that globally the period from June to August this year was
00:43the warmest on record, with temperatures 0.7 degrees Celsius above the 1991-2020 average.
00:51This graph of global monthly temperature anomalies since 1979 puts the record warm period into
00:57perspective.
00:58It indicates how average temperatures have gradually risen over the past decade.
01:03The average temperature across Europe this summer also rose to a record high.
01:07It was wetter than average in western and northern Europe, and drier than average in
01:11eastern Europe and the Mediterranean.
01:14These maps show the precipitation and soil moisture anomaly for the summer period.
01:18The hot and dry weather across the Balkans and Italy is clearly visible, while the region
01:23from France to Scandinavia saw more rain than average.
01:29Now to our report on the dramatic changes underway here in the High Alps, one of the
01:34fastest warming regions of Europe.
01:38The Stubai Glacier has lost at least 20 metres of depth in the past two decades, and soon
01:43it will be gone, according to glaciologist Andrea Fischer.
02:02Melting glaciers and thawing permafrost mean
02:04an increase in fine rocky dust in the streams below.
02:16The rise in sediment is a headache for industrial plants and hydroelectric dams downstream.
02:22What's more, the water contains harmful substances that used to be trapped in the permafrost.
02:34It contains heavy metals such as uranium and nickel.
02:38We have to make sure that the concentrations are not too high, so that our water supply
02:45in the lakes is not endangered.
02:51Thawing permafrost is often responsible for high-altitude rock slides like this.
02:57Andrea shows us a spot where a footpath has been closed recently because of the higher
03:01risk of rock slides.
03:03Strange events have always happened here, but climate change is making them more frequent
03:07and unpredictable.
03:27That risk above 2,500 metres is echoed by the head of the mountain rescue in the village
03:32of Galtur.
03:33Although tourists in the valley can safely enjoy the trails, he says the situation at
03:37high altitude is complicated by climate change.
04:03Such dangers may only last a few decades, because once the ice is gone, these mountains
04:07will be covered by stabilising green plants even at high altitude.
04:12Fundamentally, the Alps are going to change colour.
04:33Well, that's all we have time for, but please head over to euronews.com slash climate now
04:39to find out a lot more about how our planet is changing.
04:43And I'll see you next time.