One of Slovenia’s last glaciers under Triglav is on the brink of disappearing
Monitored since 1946 when it covered about 14 hectares, the ice has stopped accumulating and researchers say remaining patches may vanish soon.
One of Slovenia’s last remaining glaciers — the small ice body beneath Mount Triglav — has all but stopped functioning as a glacier and may disappear entirely within days, researchers warn.
Long-term monitoring shows rapid loss of ice
Scientists have monitored the Triglav glacier since 1946, when it occupied about 14 hectares. In recent years the mass has ceased to build new ice layers and today survives only as scattered patches of ice rather than a flowing glacier.
Field teams and satellite observations indicate the remaining fragments are shrinking rapidly during warm seasons and are no longer sustained by fresh accumulation.
"Everything indicates that even the last remnants of ice will disappear in the coming days. I have personally been following this for 30 years. It seems that this large task, at least when it comes to the glacier beneath Triglav, is coming to an end," said Miha Pavšek of the Anton Melik Geographical Institute at the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts.
Researchers say the loss of the Triglav glacier erases a visible symbol of the Alps in Slovenia and underlines broader regional trends of glacier retreat driven by long-term warming.
Photo: Piksabej)
