Overview

• A coalition called Gletscherkarawane, which includes researchers, activists and the Alpine protection commission CIPRA, issued the warning in a press release.
• The group says permanent ground ice on Germany’s highest mountain will vanish within about 50 years, raising concerns about the mountain’s stability.
• They report that the Nördliche Schneeferner has lost more than half of its surface area since 1980.
• Its mid-section thickness fell from 52 meters in 2007 to 20 meters in 2022, and the group projects only a few ice patches by 2030 with likely disappearance by 2050.
• The nearby Höllentalferner is described as comparatively sheltered because it is fed by avalanches and shaded by high rock walls.