2023-06-06

GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN - The Zugspitze, Germany's highest mountain, is home to three of the five glaciers within the country. At least it was.

In 2022, one of the three, the Südliche Schneeferner, lost its official status as a glacier after it melt down significantly over the last years. This is emblematic of the development of the glaciers in the Alps in general. According to scientists, by 2100, most of them will disappear. This is also the result of a yet under examined phenomenon called elevation dependent warming: higher places are more affected by climate change. And apart from tourism, ecosystems and permafrost, the melting of the glaciers in the Alps, in combination with heat waves and droughts, will also highly influence the water levels and thus the economy of the Rhine river, Europe's largest and most important water street. 

Team members

Sergio Matalucci

Sergio Matalucci is an Italian journalist and writer living in Berlin.

Sergio Matalucci

Méline Laffabry

Méline Laffabry is a French journalist and the founder of aidóni.

Méline Laffabry

Benjamin Hindrichs

Benjamin Hindrichs is a German freelance reporter.

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