“Hundsmiserabel”: This is how Gerhard Karl Lieb summed up the state of glaciers in Austria. Lieb is one of the leaders of the Glacier Monitoring Service of the Austrian Alpine Club, whose team has been heading into the high mountains with measuring tape for 133 years to survey the ice surfaces. The report resulting from the measurement period from August 2022 to October 2023, which was presented on Friday, reflects the warmth records of the past year. The Pasterze, at the foot of the Großglockner, is the record holder among the glaciers. With a loss of 203.5 meters, the Pasterze has never lost so much length in any year since the beginning of measurements.
Andreas Kellerer-Pirklbauer from the Institute of Geography and Spatial Research at the University of Graz reported the loss of approximately 14 million cubic meters of ice in a single year. This corresponds to a cube with a 241-meter edge length, roughly equivalent to the height of the Vienna Danube Tower. While the Pasterze has been retreating since the 1850s, in recent years the melting has accelerated. The last advance occurred about 90 years ago; since then, the signs have been indicating retreat. Overall, the glacier tongue has receded by more than three kilometers since its maximum extent during the Little Ice Age around 1850. We expect the tongue to break off within this decade.
To Be 1.7 Degrees Warmer
On average, the 79 measured glaciers in twelve mountain ranges during the observation year 2022-2023 retreated by 23.9 meters, corresponding to an estimated volume of around 600 million cubic meters or five percent of the total remaining ice. Alongside the Pasterze, the Rettenbachferner in the Ötztal Alps in Tyrol leads the way with a retreat of 127 meters. According to the Alpine Club measurements, the glacier loss across Austria was only greater in the years 2021/22, with 28.7 meters, and 2016/17, with 25.2 meters. However, there has not yet been a single glacier that shrank by more than 100 meters.
Measurements at three high mountain weather stations have shown that during the observation period, it was 1.7 degrees warmer compared to the average from 1981 to 2010, exceeding the 1.5-degree mark, while precipitation decreased by six percent. “We have observed that the melting started at the Pasterze as early as the beginning of June instead of July last year, and there were melting episodes well into October, a time when the glacier should already be building up snow reserves,” says Gerhard Karl Lieb. “During the summer, we would need four to five weather disturbances where it snows, but that’s long gone.”
No Stopping Disappearance
“We can no longer save the glaciers of Austria,” asserts Lieb. “The systems are too sluggish; disappearance is no longer preventable here.” Nothing can be done.” In fact, in Austria, “in 40 to 45 years, there will be only a few small remnants of ice left,” agrees Kellerer-Pirklbauer, co-leader of the Glacier Measurement Service. Restrictive climate protection measures could still limit glacier melting on a global scale.
“The pressure from the climate on the Alps is very high,” says Nicole Slupetzky, vice president of the Alpine Club. “Even though we know that the glaciers are disappearing, new ski lifts are being built, and glacier areas are being merged.” Only seven percent of the Austrian landscape remains untouched, and there is a responsibility for future generations, especially to protect the glaciers and their surroundings “without ifs or buts.” The Alpine Club has long advocated for “radically” protecting high-altitude areas to maintain biodiversity, Lieb emphasizes.
Last but not least, we must work to protect the glaciers for as long as possible so that future generations can also enjoy the unique experience of being near them, as Slupecky notes: “You can smell and feel the glacier.” There is something clear, refreshing, and grounding about it. And you realize how small humans are and how great a responsibility they have.”
