As Italy faces its third heatwave of the summer, the country's Alpine glaciers are struggling to regain ice amid unusually warm nights.
James Hockaday
Tue, 22 August 2023
The Italian Alps tower over the village of Oulx during winter. (Alamy)
The glaciers in the Italian Alps are melting with increasing speed as another Europe heatwave keeps temperatures above 0C – even during the night.
The Nero heatwave is expected to bring highs of 40C to some of Italy's cities and it is also having a major impact on the country's mountain ranges.
Nero is the third heatwave to hit Europe this summer, with soaring temperatures causing deadly wildfires in several countries including Italy, Greece and Spain.
As the hot spell continues, unusually high evening temperatures mean Italy's glaciers don't have enough time to regain ice overnight so the long-term pattern of decline is quickly accelerating, according to Francesco Pasi, of Italy’s National Research Council (CNR).
He told Yahoo News UK how at the Capanna Margherita – the highest mountain hut in Europe, sitting at 4,554 metres – temperatures reached 8.9C on Tuesday, one of the highest ever recorded at the site.
Pasi said that overnight, temperatures were mainly around 1.4C, while the previous night they only dipped below zero for a few hours.
Read more: Is another factor beyond global warming leading to this summer's record temperatures?
A leading scientist has warned that glaciers in the Alps are melting at an increasing rate. (Alamy)
"During the night, the glaciers are not going below zero and that's casing the very rapid and strong melting of the glaciers," the meteorologist said.
"We know it's already an established trend, the glaciers have been losing their mass for many years. But there’s no question about it, it's increasing and accelerating.
"The temperature in Switzerland and France is also being affected, so it's all over the Alps. It's really a big problem for all over the region."
Read more: Once in 7.5 million year event in Antarctica could have 'major impact' on global weather
"The glaciers are really delicate, it's a balance between the temperature and precipitation," he said, adding that it is hard to predict the full-term impact of this balance being tipped.
Communities are already feeling the impact, with a March report by environmental group Legambiente claiming that 249 Italian ski resorts had closed in recent years due to rising temperatures.
Meanwhile, many species that are crucial to the ecosystem in the Alpine region are at risk due to the rapid rate at which glaciers are melting, according to a study published in May in Nature, Ecology and Evolution.
Capanna Margherita – the highest mountain hut in Europe – is experiencing record high temperatures. (Getty Images)
Recently a Swiss weather balloon designed to measure the "zero-degree line" (the altitude at which the temperature falls to zero) had to climb to an unprecedented height of 5,328 metres.
The MeteoSuisse meteorology service said the balloon, launched from Payerne, measured the zero-degree point – a key meteorological marker – at 5,298 metres overnight, beating last year's record of 5,184 metres.
This is the highest freezing level data ever recorded in the Alps since radio soundings began in the mountain range about 70 years ago, Renato Colucci of the CNR told Yahoo News.
"I have to stress the effect of such a huge heatwave, because one single heatwave, however powerful, has little effect on the environment if before and after the climate is normal," he said.
"The problem is that we are facing, year-after-year, a trend where summers are increasingly long and hot, and this has an important effect on ecosystems and the cryosphere in the Alps."
Read more: Climate change is making debt more expensive, new study finds
This week, Switzerland is expected to endure temperatures of 37C at lower altitudes, compared to 40C in France, as Nero brings an anticyclone of very hot air from the Sahara desert to Europe.
While Pasi pointed out that some years are cooler than others, there has been a consistent trend of dwindling ice over the past 10 to 20 years.
He called for greater measures to protect the ecosystem as he warned all Alpine glaciers below 3,500 metres were expected to vanish by 2050 – meaning most of those in Italy. A study by Aberystwyth University estimated that 92% of all other glaciers will be gone before 2100.
"When you look at how the glaciers were 50 years ago and look at them after the year 2000, you can see it’s really changing and we have to look at them in a different way," Pasi added.
What happens when glaciers melt?
While there is still some uncertainty about the full volume of glaciers and ice caps on Earth, if all of them were to melt, global sea levels would rise by around 70 metres – enough to flood every coastal city on the planet, the United States Geological Survey says.
Presently, 10% of land area on Earth is covered with glacial ice, including glaciers, ice caps and the ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica, the National Snow and Ice Data Center has measured.
If enough meltwater flows into the ocean, then the Earth's rotation will change, according to Nasa.
The space agency said that if the ice sheet on Greenland were to completely melt and flow into the ocean, global see levels would rise by about seven metres and the Earth would rotate more slowly, with the length of the day increasing by about two milliseconds.
Read more: Ancient climate change was driven by volcanoes, researchers say
As melting glaciers add to rising sea levels, they increase coastal erosion and elevate storm surges as warming air and ocean temperatures create more frequent and intense coastal storms, such as hurricanes and typhoons, according to the World Wildlife Fund.
It adds that the glacial melt currently happening in the Antarctic and Greenland is changing the circulation of the Atlantic Ocean and has been linked to collapse of fisheries in the Gulf of Maine and more destructive storms and hurricanes around the planet.
As ocean currents and weather patterns are disrupted worldwide, flooding will become more frequent, fisheries will be affected as different types of fish seek new waters, while other species face losing their food sources and habitats.
Death toll rises as Europe suffers blistering third heatwave
Nick Squires
Tue, August 22, 2023
A farmer rushes to evacuate his horse during a wildfire near Athens
Nick Squires
Tue, August 22, 2023
A farmer rushes to evacuate his horse during a wildfire near Athens
- KOSTAS TSIRONIS/Shutterstock
Wildfires prompted holiday resorts and campsites to be evacuated as Europe was hit by a third summer heatwave.
Spain, Italy, southern France, Greece and the Balkans roasted in temperatures of up to 40C as the southern half of the continent endured yet another period of extreme heat.
In the French Alps, authorities urged climbers to delay scaling Mont Blanc, Europe’s highest peak, because high temperatures had created dangerous conditions, including a greater risk of rockfall and new crevices opening on its glaciers.
Grape-pickers in wine-producing regions of southern France were urged to start work early.
Firefighters attempt to extinguish a wildfire - ALEXANDROS AVRAMIDIS/REUTERS
Meanwhile, the bodies of 18 migrants crossing from Turkey to Greece were discovered in forests burning near the border.
In Italy, wildfires broke out on the holiday island of Elba, off the coast of Tuscany, forcing the evacuation of around 700 people.
In Rome, where the mercury hit 37C, tourists tried to cool themselves down in fountains, while visitors to Florence and Venice also endured sweltering temperatures.
Italian meteorologists said the heat would last for the rest of the week, with thunderstorms at the weekend expected to bring some respite.
Much of Spain was on alert for extremely high temperatures. The hottest place in the country on Tuesday was El Granado in Andalucia in the south-west of the country, where the mercury reached 45C.
Córdoba, the historic city celebrated for its Moorish, Jewish and Christian heritage, experienced a high of 44.5C.
Even the normally cool north of Spain was hit by extreme heat, with parts of the Basque region sweltering in 42C.
Weather conditions will remain extreme in the coming days, according to an official - Sakis Mitrolidis/AFP via Getty Images
On the island of Tenerife in the Canaries, authorities struggled to stabilise a huge wildfire that has ravaged forests for a week.
The fire has burned through 15,000 hectares, forcing the evacuation of thousands of people.
In France, the weather service widened its red alert heat warning to include 15 more departments, up from an initial four on Monday.
The newly added departments encompassed large parts of Provence and some areas in the southwest, where temperatures were expected to reach 39C.
Soaring temperatures are affecting large parts of France and were expected to peak at 42C in the wine-growing Rhone Valley.
“The heatwave is expected to peak between Tuesday and Thursday, depending on the regions,” Meteo France said.
Firefighters and volunteers operate during a wildfire in northern Greece - DIMITRIS ALEXOUDIS/Shutterstock
Jerome Volle, a wine producer in Ardeche and the vice-president of French farmers’ union FNSEA, said the grape harvest had begun in his region and one way to beat the heat was to “start picking the grapes at 3.30am and to stop at 11am”.
A woman who was hiking in the Gorges du Tarn, a canyon in southern France, was taken by helicopter to hospital after suffering from heat stroke and dehydration.
Wildfires continued to burn across Greece and 18 charred bodies were found in a remote village in the north-east of the country.
Firefighters were investigating whether the bodies, found near a shack south of the village of Avantas, were migrants. The surrounding Evros region is a popular route for migrants from the Middle East and Asia crossing from Turkey.
“Given that there have been no reports of disappearances or missing residents from the surrounding areas, the possibility that these are people who entered the country illegally is being investigated,” the fire brigade said.
In the Greek port town of Alexandroupolis, not far from Avantas, wildfires forced the evacuation of dozens of hospital patients, including newborn babies. A ferry was turned into a makeshift hospital after 65 patients were evacuated from the University Hospital.
Locals in Avanta put out a fire - Sakis Mitrolidis/AFP via Getty Images
Elderly patients lay on mattresses strewn across the cafeteria floor, paramedics attended to others on stretchers and a woman held a man resting on a sofa, an IV drip attached to his hand.
“I’ve been working for 27 years, I’ve never seen anything like this,” said Nikos Gioktsidis, a nurse. “Stretchers everywhere, patients here, IV drips there ... it was like a war, like a bomb had exploded.”
The latest heatwave, which scientists link to the effects of global warming, comes after July was the hottest month on record.
Dimitris Vartzopoulos, the deputy health minister, said smoke and ash in the air around the hospital were the main reasons behind the decision to evacuate the facility.
Coast guard patrol boats and private vessels evacuated an additional 40 people by sea from beaches near Alexandroupolis.
With firefighting forces stretched to the limit, Greece appealed for help from the EU’s civil protection mechanism.
An aerial view of the destruction over Avantas - Dimitris Alexoudis/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Five water-dropping planes from Croatia, Germany and Sweden, as well as a helicopter and a team of around 60 firefighters from the Czech Republic, flew to Greece on Tuesday.
On Monday, Romania sent more than 50 firefighters and Cyprus dispatched two aircraft.
Greece’s deadliest wildfire killed 104 people in 2018, at a seaside resort near Athens that residents had not been warned to evacuate. Authorities have since erred on the side of caution, issuing swift mass evacuation orders whenever inhabited areas are threatened.
Last month, a wildfire on the island of Rhodes forced the evacuation of around 20,000 tourists and locals.
According to the Italian Society of Environmental Geology, more than 1,100 fires in Europe this summer have consumed about 1,100 square miles, well above an average of 724 fires a year recorded from 2006-2022. The fires have destroyed forested areas capable of absorbing 2.5 million tons of carbon dioxide a year.
“When we add the fires in Canada, the United States, Africa, Asia and Australia to those in Europe, it seems that the situation is getting worse every year,” said Antonello Fiore, the society’s president.
Wildfires prompted holiday resorts and campsites to be evacuated as Europe was hit by a third summer heatwave.
Spain, Italy, southern France, Greece and the Balkans roasted in temperatures of up to 40C as the southern half of the continent endured yet another period of extreme heat.
In the French Alps, authorities urged climbers to delay scaling Mont Blanc, Europe’s highest peak, because high temperatures had created dangerous conditions, including a greater risk of rockfall and new crevices opening on its glaciers.
Grape-pickers in wine-producing regions of southern France were urged to start work early.
Firefighters attempt to extinguish a wildfire - ALEXANDROS AVRAMIDIS/REUTERS
Meanwhile, the bodies of 18 migrants crossing from Turkey to Greece were discovered in forests burning near the border.
In Italy, wildfires broke out on the holiday island of Elba, off the coast of Tuscany, forcing the evacuation of around 700 people.
In Rome, where the mercury hit 37C, tourists tried to cool themselves down in fountains, while visitors to Florence and Venice also endured sweltering temperatures.
Italian meteorologists said the heat would last for the rest of the week, with thunderstorms at the weekend expected to bring some respite.
Much of Spain was on alert for extremely high temperatures. The hottest place in the country on Tuesday was El Granado in Andalucia in the south-west of the country, where the mercury reached 45C.
Córdoba, the historic city celebrated for its Moorish, Jewish and Christian heritage, experienced a high of 44.5C.
Even the normally cool north of Spain was hit by extreme heat, with parts of the Basque region sweltering in 42C.
Weather conditions will remain extreme in the coming days, according to an official - Sakis Mitrolidis/AFP via Getty Images
On the island of Tenerife in the Canaries, authorities struggled to stabilise a huge wildfire that has ravaged forests for a week.
The fire has burned through 15,000 hectares, forcing the evacuation of thousands of people.
In France, the weather service widened its red alert heat warning to include 15 more departments, up from an initial four on Monday.
The newly added departments encompassed large parts of Provence and some areas in the southwest, where temperatures were expected to reach 39C.
Soaring temperatures are affecting large parts of France and were expected to peak at 42C in the wine-growing Rhone Valley.
“The heatwave is expected to peak between Tuesday and Thursday, depending on the regions,” Meteo France said.
Firefighters and volunteers operate during a wildfire in northern Greece - DIMITRIS ALEXOUDIS/Shutterstock
Jerome Volle, a wine producer in Ardeche and the vice-president of French farmers’ union FNSEA, said the grape harvest had begun in his region and one way to beat the heat was to “start picking the grapes at 3.30am and to stop at 11am”.
A woman who was hiking in the Gorges du Tarn, a canyon in southern France, was taken by helicopter to hospital after suffering from heat stroke and dehydration.
Wildfires continued to burn across Greece and 18 charred bodies were found in a remote village in the north-east of the country.
Firefighters were investigating whether the bodies, found near a shack south of the village of Avantas, were migrants. The surrounding Evros region is a popular route for migrants from the Middle East and Asia crossing from Turkey.
“Given that there have been no reports of disappearances or missing residents from the surrounding areas, the possibility that these are people who entered the country illegally is being investigated,” the fire brigade said.
In the Greek port town of Alexandroupolis, not far from Avantas, wildfires forced the evacuation of dozens of hospital patients, including newborn babies. A ferry was turned into a makeshift hospital after 65 patients were evacuated from the University Hospital.
Locals in Avanta put out a fire - Sakis Mitrolidis/AFP via Getty Images
Elderly patients lay on mattresses strewn across the cafeteria floor, paramedics attended to others on stretchers and a woman held a man resting on a sofa, an IV drip attached to his hand.
“I’ve been working for 27 years, I’ve never seen anything like this,” said Nikos Gioktsidis, a nurse. “Stretchers everywhere, patients here, IV drips there ... it was like a war, like a bomb had exploded.”
The latest heatwave, which scientists link to the effects of global warming, comes after July was the hottest month on record.
Dimitris Vartzopoulos, the deputy health minister, said smoke and ash in the air around the hospital were the main reasons behind the decision to evacuate the facility.
Coast guard patrol boats and private vessels evacuated an additional 40 people by sea from beaches near Alexandroupolis.
With firefighting forces stretched to the limit, Greece appealed for help from the EU’s civil protection mechanism.
An aerial view of the destruction over Avantas - Dimitris Alexoudis/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Five water-dropping planes from Croatia, Germany and Sweden, as well as a helicopter and a team of around 60 firefighters from the Czech Republic, flew to Greece on Tuesday.
On Monday, Romania sent more than 50 firefighters and Cyprus dispatched two aircraft.
Greece’s deadliest wildfire killed 104 people in 2018, at a seaside resort near Athens that residents had not been warned to evacuate. Authorities have since erred on the side of caution, issuing swift mass evacuation orders whenever inhabited areas are threatened.
Last month, a wildfire on the island of Rhodes forced the evacuation of around 20,000 tourists and locals.
According to the Italian Society of Environmental Geology, more than 1,100 fires in Europe this summer have consumed about 1,100 square miles, well above an average of 724 fires a year recorded from 2006-2022. The fires have destroyed forested areas capable of absorbing 2.5 million tons of carbon dioxide a year.
“When we add the fires in Canada, the United States, Africa, Asia and Australia to those in Europe, it seems that the situation is getting worse every year,” said Antonello Fiore, the society’s president.
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