Norway's glaciers in peril: Unprecedented retreat accelerates
Over the past year, Norwegian glaciers have lost up to 10% of their thickness. Scientists are warning that such a rapid rate of melting has never been observed before. The blame lies with snowless winters and increasingly hotter summers. The glaciers in the north of the country are the most threatened.
29 November 2024 08:53
The Nigardsbreen glacier in the Sogn og Fjordane region of Norway, known for its picturesque descent directly into the lake, retreated by 42 metres in 2023, hiding behind rocky mountainsides.
A year ago, thousands of tourists would sail boats to the glacier's edge to admire the meeting of ice and water. This year's hot summer has ultimately put an end to that possibility.
Glaciers are melting faster than ever
The Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE) has published the latest data indicating an unprecedented rate of glacier melting.
According to Liss Andreassen, a glaciologist at NVE, the primary challenge lies in reduced snowfall during winter, followed by increasingly hot summers. The northern regions are experiencing the most significant changes, with less snow and ice accumulating in winter than what melts away during the summer months.
The most affected is the Engabreen glacier in the Nordland region, which retreated by 83 metres in 2023, accounting for one-fifth of the retreat recorded since 2014. The Austre Okstindbreen glacier in Nordland and Steindalsbreen in Troms also shortened by 80 and 75 metres, respectively. The problem also affects glaciers in southern Norway.
It's all due to lack of snow and hot summers
Until recently, western Norway was a safe haven for glaciers thanks to heavy snowfalls brought by moist winds from the Atlantic. However, since 2020, winter precipitation has been significantly lower, and summers arrive earlier, are hotter, and last longer. The result is accelerated melting of the ice cover.
The Hardangerjøkulen glacier, known from the film "Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back," is also undergoing rapid melting. The ice thickness in areas where the film was shot has decreased by 15 metres since the beginning of the 21st century, and the glacier's front has retreated by over 460 metres.
- Each of our glaciers has lost an average of 200 metres in length over the past ten years, and this process will continue, states Hallgeir Elvehoy, a scientist at NVE.
2025 will be the International Year of Glacier Protection
In response to this alarming data, UNESCO and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) have declared 2025 as the International Year of Glacier Protection. Starting next year, 21 March will be celebrated as Glacier Day.
Meanwhile, scientists from Rice University in Houston have compiled a list of "victims of the climate disaster" – glaciers that have already disappeared from the Earth's surface. From Norway, Breifonn and Juvfonne have been included, where in 2017, the oldest ice in continental Europe was discovered, dating back 7,600 years.
