Climate change is real and devastating natural disasters are becoming more and more frequent. Whole areas of forest are burning, animal species are dying out - and there is another event that is happening very slowly but has serious consequences: the melting of glaciers.
Climate change is real and devastating natural disasters are becoming more and more frequent. Whole areas of forest are burning, animal species are dying out - and there is another event that is happening very slowly but has serious consequences: the melting of glaciers.
Aletsch Glacier, Switzerland
At NIKIN, we are particularly committed to protecting the world's forests. But it is not only the forests that are disappearing, but also the glaciers - global warming brings fatal consequences due to the water stored in the ice, which is being released at an ever faster rate and causing sea levels to rise. These consequences not only affect nature and the environment, but also us humans. We are running out of water - and that is why it is essential to stop this rapid glacier retreat.
What are glaciers?
Glaciers are masses of ice formed from compressed snow. The incredible masses of snow that it takes to create the largest glaciers are hard to imagine. For a glacier to form at all, several conditions must be met. The most important of these is that there must be sufficient snowfall every year for a very long time. The snow must fall in such large quantities that less melts than remains. So a little snow is added every year. In large quantities, the lightweight snowflake becomes a load weighing several tonnes. Gradually, the lower layers are compressed and become ice.
Always on the move
Since glaciers form far above the snow line, i.e. in mountainous regions, another element is added - movement. The heavy ice load does not stay where it is, but slides downhill. Only centimetres at a time, but noticeably. In the process, the ice masses shape, drag and scrape the landscape, carrying with them huge boulders and other matter that remains long after the glacier has ceased to exist. The traces of the last ice age can still be seen in Central Europe, which is now warm again.
Glaciers - they are the biggest!
Due to their compressed water masses, glaciers are the largest water reservoirs after the oceans - and thus have a considerable influence on the world's climate. The largest glaciers in the world are:
- the world's largest glacier of all is the Lambert Glacier in East Antarctica
- Iceland's Vatnajökull is considered the largest glacier in Europe
- the Jostedalsbreen in Norway is considered the largest glacier on the European mainland
- the longest in Switzerland is the Aletsch Glacier
- the Malaspina glacier in Alaska is the largest glacier outside the polar region
- in the tropical zone, the Peruvian Quelccaya is the largest glacier
- the Campo de Hielo Sur is the largest glacier in South America
- in Germany, the Schneeferner is number one
- in Austria, the Pasterzen glacier is the largest
- in the Caucasus, home to high mountains, the Bezengi is the largest ice mass
Breiðamerkurjökull (Vatnajökull), Iceland
Swiss glaciers - acutely threatened!
Switzerland has a lot to offer in terms of glaciers. They are part of our landscape, but are acutely threatened by climate change. The Aletsch Glacier is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, but the Rhone, Fee and other glaciers are also landmarks of Switzerland. In the last two decades, the ice giants that previously pushed their way down to the valley by centimetres have retreated - often by several kilometres. Climate protection in Switzerland is also and above all glacier protection. Almost seven hundred glaciers are said to have already disappeared - the phenomenon is so striking that environmental activists have already held funeral marches for "dead" glaciers.
Why are the glaciers disappearing?
The ice masses are of course suffering from the rising temperatures worldwide. At least as devastating is the lack of snowfall - because the glaciers are thus no longer "fed". The result is that more ice melts than can be formed. In a sense, the glacier is retreating. According to experts who study the future of Swiss glaciers, most of the smaller glaciers will have disappeared by 2050. Fifty years later, only parts of the larger glaciers will still exist. This will affect the water balance and the stability of the rock and earth layers in the mountains, but also the fauna and flora.
Protect glaciers through climate protection!
In order to preserve the glaciers as a unique biotope worldwide, a global rethink is necessary. It does not help to debate for years. Every single person has a responsibility. And that means that we have to become more sustainable in our consumption behaviour and our lifestyles. It will not work without renunciation - but if we look beyond our own small environment, we will preserve the wonders of our world for our children and grandchildren. This is what we at NIKIN also want to work for.
