Winter nights too warm

Melting inferno on glaciers continues

The ice was completely unprotected from the summer sun. This is the third worst record since measurements began.

(Bild: zVg/Lea Hartl)

Even large amounts of fresh snow on the mountains cannot hide the fact: This summer was another fiasco for Tyrol's glaciers. The melting inferno continues, sums up glaciologist Andrea Fischer. 

As soon as it gets colder again, glaciologist Andrea Fischer will be able to take stock of the state of the Tyrolean glaciers. It has been clear for around two decades that they have suffered badly again over the summer. But how bad was it really this time? Does the totally rainy spring - snow fell on the glaciers - even give cause for hope?

The glaciologist, who was crowned Scientist of the Year in 2023, dispels these hopes with her first sentences.

I would never have imagined that the outcome would be so bad. Even in February, we measured up to 8 degrees plus at more than 3,000 meters above sea level - at night. That was really very unusual.

Dr. Andrea Fischer, Institute for Interdisciplinary Mountain Research Austrian Academy of Sciences, Innsbruck

Losses at every turn
The first measurement results from the Jamtal glacier are now available. "In spring, we were still happy about the above-average amounts of fresh snow on the glaciers, which then lay under the protective blanket of fresh snow for a relatively long time," reports Fischer in an interview with Krone.

But there is also 1.5 meters missing in the summit regions, which is a lot. I was surprised by the very high runoff volumes in August due to the heat.

Dr. Andrea Fischer, Institute for Interdisciplinary Mountain Research Austrian Academy of Sciences, Innsbruck

"But then an early thaw period, when it didn't cool down even at night, Saharan dust and the heat in summer took their toll on the glaciers. Today they are bare to the top, the ice is littered with rockfalls. The loss of surface area is not only to be found at the ends, but also at higher altitudes. More and more rock islands are appearing," says the glaciologist, describing a dramatic picture.

Winter nights should be freezing cold at 3000 meters
At the Jamtalferner glacier studied, the decrease in length is five meters, after the seven meters measured in the previous year, which was the second worst in terms of mass loss in the history of measurements. "But 1.5 meters are also missing in the summit regions, which is a lot," the scientist emphasizes: "I was surprised by the very large discharge volumes in August, due to the heat."

 It was also warm in February, especially at night and particularly high up: "6 to 8 degrees at 3500 meters meant 24 hours of melting."