Global warming causes UK's 'most resilient' longest-standing ice patch to melt

In the midst of the Cop26 climate talks in Glasgow, the UK's longest-lasting snow patch has melted away, for only the eighth time in 300 years.

Nicknamed “the Sphinx”, the hardy piece of snow has survived countless summers on a remote mountainside in the Cairngorms.

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The patch of resilient snow resides on Braeriach in Aviemore, Scotland's third highest mountain at 1,296 metres (4,252 ft).After shrinking to the size of an A4 piece of paper in recent weeks, it finally disappeared in mild weather.

According to Iain Cameron, who has studied snow patches in Scotland for 25 years, global warming is a major factor.

The longest-lasting patch of snow melted for the third time in five years on the eve of COP26. How ironic and prophetic, he observed, noting that before 2000 it had melted only three times in the past 150 years.

Records indicate that previously the Sphinx melted fully in 1933, 1959, 1996, 2003, 2006, 2017 and 2018. Prior to 1993, it is believed that the ice melted completely in the 1700s.

According to Cameron, the increased rate of melting is a logical consequence of warmer weather caused by the climate crisis.

Research shows that patches of snow are becoming smaller and fewer, he said, adding that there is less snow in winter than in the 1980s or 1990s.

Garbh Choire Mor, ahollow formed by ice or a glacier during the last ice age contains the Sphinx.

Since the winter of 1983-84, declining snow cover has been observed on Cairngorm mountain, according to a report commissioned by the Cairngorms national park authority and published last year.

Furthermore, researchers noted that temperatures have been rising since the 1960s and predicted there would be some years with very little or no snow on Cairngorm by the 2080s.

As a result of a lack of snow, Scotland's ski resorts had one of their most difficult seasons in 2019.

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According to Lauren McCallum, a campaigner with the international campaign group Protect Our Winters, the Cairngorms, and the rest of the world should be protected from further warming. She said that to ensure the survival of ecosystems and communities, we need to maintain a healthy temperature.