Swiss Glacier Collapses, Destroying 90% of Alpine Village
- A massive landslide buried about 90% of the Swiss village of Blatten on Wednesday near the Birch Glacier in the Ltschental valley.
- The collapse occurred because mountain permafrost melted, destabilizing the rock face above the glacier amid broader global warming trends.
- Authorities evacuated approximately 300 people and all livestock from Blatten before the event, while similar glacier collapses have caused deaths in Italy, Tibet, and Peru.
- Switzerland lost 4% of its glacier volume in 2023 and experts warn many glaciers, including those in the Alps, could disappear this century due to accelerating ice loss.
- The event highlights the acute effects of glacier loss on local populations and reinforces that climate change will continue to drive glacier collapses despite mitigation efforts.
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529 Articles
Climate change, which melts permafrost, is probably the first piece that led to avalanches in the Alps.
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.
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.
How Switzerland's Birch glacier collapsed
A cascade of events in the Swiss Alps led to the dramatic collapse of the Birch glacier, wiping out Blatten village in the valley below, glaciologists and geoscientists told AFP on Friday.
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