Mont Blanc has lost its permafrost, triggering concerns about the glaciers

The Nepal disaster has caused fear among other communities where glaciers can trigger similar disasters because of climate change. Mont Blanc in Western Europe is also facing danger as Earth heats up. Also known as the white mountain, it is covered with glaciers and snow, which the locals fear is changing.

Glaciers are retreating, and the snow is melting at an alarming rate on Mont Blanc. Reports suggest that the record heatwave that swept Europe this summer, thanks to El Niño, has triggered considerable change in the mountain. The biggest issue is that the permafrost has melted. Permafrost is any ground that remains completely frozen for at least two years straight, and is made of a combination of soil, rocks and sand that are held together by ice.

Mont Blanc permafrost melts

Mont Blanc, the white mountain, is witnessing a massive change. The cliffs have defrosted and come apart, causing rocks to tumble down. A gully located at 4,805 metres has become temporarily impassable. Stéphane Bozon, a deputy mayor in Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, says rock falls have increased since mid-July.

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"We saw areas becoming difficult to access because of glacial retreat and snowmelt on the glaciers, with crevasses opening up and rock collapses making some areas difficult to reach or traverse," she told Associated Press.

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According to Meteo France, the national weather service, temperatures have spiked by several degrees since the 1990s. On the Aiguille du Midi peak at an altitude of 3,842 metres, average temperatures for July rose from 1.6 degrees Celsius in 1994 to 3.3 degrees Celsius. Bozon has called for urgent preparation for "serious scenarios" involving glacier or mountain chunks falling onto homes.

Also Read: Alpine glacier was covered with sheep wool sheets to prevent melting. It worked

Glaciers everywhere are bearing the brunt of climate change. In Italy, Alpine glaciers have lost more than 40 per cent of their surface area since 1991, according to the region's glacier service. It doesn't snow anymore at high altitudes. Several glaciers on Mont Blanc are on the verge of becoming unstable because of permafrost loss.

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The Nepal floods were reportedly triggered by a glacial lake outburst. The melting glaciers hide lakes either inside them or near them, with rocks and debris acting as a wall. When these walls fall, the water gushes out, triggering floods. In Nepal, a glacier is believed to have collapsed, sending out a mix of rocks, mud and ice that washed away villages.

Melting glaciers across the world

Scientists have warned that the Himalayas are warming faster than other parts of the world. Chinese climate experts said that more glaciers are at risk of collapsing in the region. The Arctic is also facing a problem where a study found that in 2025 a rockslide on an island was triggered by melting permafrost. In the Alps, a group covered a glacier with sheep wool to see if it could prevent melting, and it did. The situation in the world's mountains is becoming dire, and urgent steps are needed to address it.