Alpine glaciers are melting faster — major losses recorded in Lombardy
Researchers report a 31 m retreat on Dosde this year and say higher temperatures plus less snow are driving rapid losses.
Italian glaciologists warn that an unusually hot summer has markedly accelerated the melting of Alpine glaciers across northern Italy.
On the Dosde glacier in Lombardy, researchers measured a retreat of 31 meters this year and report that almost no winter snow remains on its surface — a condition that speeds up further melting.
Scientists say the combination of higher temperatures and reduced snowfall is particularly damaging for these ice bodies, leaving them more exposed to solar radiation and summer heat.
Regional losses and fragmentation
In Lombardy overall, glacier surface area has shrunk by more than 40 percent since 1991, according to the assessments. The Forni glacier has suffered visible structural change: retreat has broken it into three separate ice masses.
Experts also warn the effects go beyond glacier volume. Warming is linked to more frequent extreme weather events, heavier precipitation at high elevations and increased instability of mountain terrain — factors that raise the risk of landslides and sudden floods.
Photo: press material from the event
