Collapsing Glaciers: A Dire Threat to Some Local Communities

For decades, scientists have discussed the possible implications of global warming; there are limitless possibilities as to how our carelessness can hurt us in the coming decades. But for an estimated 30 million people around the globe, the consequences of our actions can already be felt in a massive and unprecedented way. 

As temperatures rise around the world, the previously frigid temperatures of mountain glaciers are rising. A tentative estimate indicates that 220 billion metric tons of ice are melting yearly as a result of global warming; as this happens, our ice caps are slowly becoming less stable. The permafrost of the terrain beneath the glacier loosens and thaws, and huge chunks of mountain become more susceptible to collapse. The sheer magnitude of many of these glaciers can wipe our entire villages or small cities, such as the hamlet of Planpincieux in northern Italy. Situated in the foothills of Mont Blanc, the tallest mountain in the Alps, Planpincieux is unfortunately located directly below a 1,000 square-kilometer hanging ice glacier. The top of Mont Blanc, which previously averaged a temperature of -16 C° (≈ 3° F) has recorded record-high temperatures nearing 50° F in the past 3 years. The glacier has gradually worsened, with new crevasses appearing every few months and roughly 50 cubic centimeters of ice melting daily. In 2019, a 600,000 cubic foot chunk of ice broke off from the glacier, leaving manyPlanpincieux houses in ruin. As these incidents have become more common in recent years, scientists have begun to fear the collapse of the glacier as a whole; such an incident would completely flatten Planpincieux and neighboring villages such as Courmayeur.

In an effort to protect the people of this region, the Italian government has taken preemptive measures to evaluate the stability of the Planpincieux glacier as well as to ensure the safety of the people in the case of an emergency. The Safe Mountain Foundation (Fondazione Montagne Sicura) has installed radars every few hundred meters surrounding the glacier, designed to periodically monitor the glacier’s shift, along with satellites above ground. Planpincieux’s administration received a daily email containing the probes’ findings - should the radars detect an unusual spike in the movement of the glacier, the hamlet would promptly be evacuated and moved to an emergency hideout.  In addition, the Italian government sends airplanes over the mountain range every week to spot any new crevasses which may indicate breakage in the glacier.  The issue was brought up in a UN meeting in 2021 to set up further safety precautions for the people of Planpincieux - Italy is doing everything in its power to protect the region.

Over the past 30 years, as we have continuously abused our environment, we have seen more and more communities around the world face similar issues to that of Planpincieux. Overflown aqueducts and lakes in Asia have killed over 6,000 people since 2009. Over 1 million people in Pakistan are at direct risk of a massive glacier, known as the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, melting. A Kyrgyzstani glacier collapsed in 2019, while another in Patagonia injured several civilians just south of Santiago, Chile. Animals in the arctic circle are also in direct danger - their habitats are slowly being destroyed as the ice melts.

As a society, we seem to have this preconceived notion that we have decades until the effects of climate change can be felt. However, these melting glaciers demonstrate the fragility of our planet. No amount of scientific discoveries can tell us how to fix the issue that we have known about for decades. Unless we drastically change how we treat our environment now, the negative implications of climate change will be felt in every aspect of our lives and the damages will be irreversible. 

Works Cited:

American Association for the Advancement of Science. (2023, February 9). News at a glance: Diversity in STEM degrees, risky glacial lakes, and low-carbon construction. Science. Retrieved March 20, 2023, from https://www.science.org/content/article/news-at-a-glance-diversity-stem-degrees-risky-glacial-lakes-low-carbon-construction

Hruby, D. (2022, October 5). These melting mountain peaks could kill thousands. can science help? Environment. Retrieved March 20, 2023, from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/these-melting-mountain-peaks-could-kill-thousands-can-science-help

NBCUniversal News Group. (2019, September 25). Mont Blanc Glacier at risk of collapsing due to climate change. NBCNews.com. Retrieved March 20, 2023, from https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/science/mont-blanc-glacier-risk-collapsing-due-climate-change-ncna1058696

Reguly, E. (2019, October 31). A Mont Blanc Glacier goes on death watch as the Alps Heat up. The Globe and Mail. Retrieved March 20, 2023, from https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-a-mont-blanc-glacier-goes-on-death-watch-as-the-alps-heat-up/