Post by Andrei Tchentchik on Apr 14, 2019 20:21:08 GMT 2
(.#A.004).- Alps - Glaciers may melt 90% by 2100.
Alps - Glaciers may melt 90% by 2100.
VIENNA / (AFP) The glaciers of the Alps risk melting more than 90% by the end of the century if nothing is done to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions responsible for global warming, according to a study published yesterday . The 4000 or so alpine glaciers are threatened by emissions related to human activity.
A team of Swiss researchers used climate models coupled with glacier measurements to estimate their evolution under various warming scenarios. If emissions reach a ceiling within a few years before rapidly decreasing to 2100, only a third of the volume of these glaciers would survive.
But if emissions continue at their current rate, the prediction is even darker. "In this pessimistic scenario, the Alps could be virtually ice-free by 2100 (...)," explains ETH Zurich researcher Matthias Huss, co-author of the study.
AT LEAST HALF
"A glacier is a reservoir. A healthy glacier melts in summer and grows in winter. This means that when people need water the most they get it from the glacier, "says Harry Zekollari of the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands.
"If the glaciers disappear, you lose those tanks. In the Alps, it may be bearable, but in the Andes or the Himalayas, billions of people really need this water, "he says, noting also the risks of floods, landslides and the impact on tourism.
The glaciers of the Alps contain about 100 cubic km of ice, the equivalent of 400 million Olympic swimming pools. But they are not the only ones to melt.
A recent study estimates that melting glaciers worldwide has accelerated over the last three decades.
F I N.
Alps - Glaciers may melt 90% by 2100.
VIENNA / (AFP) The glaciers of the Alps risk melting more than 90% by the end of the century if nothing is done to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions responsible for global warming, according to a study published yesterday . The 4000 or so alpine glaciers are threatened by emissions related to human activity.
A team of Swiss researchers used climate models coupled with glacier measurements to estimate their evolution under various warming scenarios. If emissions reach a ceiling within a few years before rapidly decreasing to 2100, only a third of the volume of these glaciers would survive.
But if emissions continue at their current rate, the prediction is even darker. "In this pessimistic scenario, the Alps could be virtually ice-free by 2100 (...)," explains ETH Zurich researcher Matthias Huss, co-author of the study.
AT LEAST HALF
"A glacier is a reservoir. A healthy glacier melts in summer and grows in winter. This means that when people need water the most they get it from the glacier, "says Harry Zekollari of the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands.
"If the glaciers disappear, you lose those tanks. In the Alps, it may be bearable, but in the Andes or the Himalayas, billions of people really need this water, "he says, noting also the risks of floods, landslides and the impact on tourism.
The glaciers of the Alps contain about 100 cubic km of ice, the equivalent of 400 million Olympic swimming pools. But they are not the only ones to melt.
A recent study estimates that melting glaciers worldwide has accelerated over the last three decades.
F I N.
