US EditionSwiss Glacier Collapses, Destroying 90% of Alpine Village
- A mountainside collapsed Wednesday near Blatten, Switzerland, burying most of the village and damaging the Alpine area severely.
- The collapse occurred because melting mountain permafrost destabilized the rock face above the Birch Glacier, leading to rock and soil sliding down and accumulating on the glacier over the past several years.
- Authorities evacuated about 300 people and all livestock from the village as the event renewed focus on glacier collapses tied to global warming.
- In 2023, Switzerland experienced a loss equivalent to 4% of its glacier ice mass, while research indicates that nearly 40% of the world’s glaciers could vanish even if global temperatures remain steady.
- Experts caution that ongoing glacier melt, driven by greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels, will contribute to rising sea levels over an extended period and underline that many glaciers are already irreversibly impacted by the warming that has been locked in.
517 Articles
517 Articles
Glacier collapse in Blatten, Switzerland—A portent of an ecological catastrophe
On May 28, a mass of rock, ice, mud and water crashed down on and buried the mountain village of Blatten in the Swiss canton of Valais. Only a few houses remained standing, and these are now flooded by a pool of water that has formed behind the debris.
InsideNoVA.com
Swiss glacier collapse offers global warning of wider impact
The collapse of the Swiss Birch glacier serves as a chilling warning of the escalating dangers faced by communities worldwide living under the shadow of fragile ice, particularly in Asia, experts say.
Satellite Images Show How the Landslide Swallowed the Village in the Alps
In an instant, hundreds of houses were buried in ice, mud and rock when a glacier partially collapsed near the village of Blatten in Switzerland. New satellite images show that even the village church is no longer visible.
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