Freezing level at 4,600 m, a temperature of 13 degrees at 3,300 m, glaciers retreating by 6 cm a day:
It sounds like the plot of a disaster movie, but it is simply reality, the reality of summer 2012.
These are just some of the figures gathered by experts, figures that break your heart and make us realise that glaciers are now an endangered species.
Never before have the great Alpine ice reserves seen so much snow-covered surface disappear as this year: the scarce snowfall of the winter and the hottest summer since 2003 have led to a devastating result.
The glaciers suffering most are those in the north-east, which after a winter with Zero Snow found themselves facing an African-style summer, with temperatures above 32 degrees even at a thousand metres.
A striking example is the Marmolada (3,300 m): since the beginning of August the temperature has never dropped below zero (not even at night), and in the middle of the day as much as 13 degrees has been recorded.
Such high temperatures melt the ice so quickly that its retreat can be measured day by day; the readings show 6 cm lost every day, snow that will most probably never be given back, not even when winter arrives.
In Trentino Alto Adige too it’s a red alert: on the Mandrone Glacier, readings show that since the beginning of summer it has retreated by a good 10 metres, and its front is a full 5 metres lower than in summer 2011.
On the Mandrone, the retreating glacier has brought to light a First World War bomb, and it is not the only find: on the Stelvio glacier, a boot worn by Italian troops during the First World War has been discovered.
Despite the critical situation, the Pirovano is reassuring tourists and keeping summer skiing going.
Beyond the Alps the situation is no different, with Hintertux, Stubai, Les 2 Alpes and Tignes reduced to a sieve; here too summer skiing continues. Here is the article we published a few weeks ago
http://news.mondoneve.it/ghiacciai-caldo-estate-2012_4853.html
Plateau Rosà is starting to give way as well: not even its 4,000 m of altitude is enough to protect it from Lucifero (the name of the new heatwave). A freezing level of 4,600 m leaves no way out, and the whole of the Alps is at the mercy of the scorching heat.
Only at the end of the season will it be possible to take stock of the situation, but one thing is certain: summer 2012 has caused irreparable damage, and perhaps not even a winter like that of 2008/09 could make up for a loss of this magnitude.
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