Climate change for real? Glacier melts, makes Swedish peak shrink by 2 metres in a year

Owing to rising temperatures driven by climate change, theonly remaining mountaintop glacier inSweden, which used to beits highest peakuntil 2019,lost another twometresin height inayear, saysStockholm University.

After a third of its glacier melted,the south peak of the Kebnekaise massif waspushed to the second spot in the rankings of Swedish mountains in 2019.The highest peak in the Nordic country isKebnekaise’s north peak, where there is no glacier.

In a statement on Tuesday,the university said,“On August14, the southern peak of Kebnekaise was measured at 2,094.6metres(6,912 feet) above sea level by researchers fromTarfalaresearch station. This is the lowest height that has been measured since the measurements started in the 1940s.”

“The decrease in the peak and the changed appearance of the drift can mainly be explained by rising air temperatures but also changing wind conditions, which affect where the snow accumulates in the winter.The changes also reflect a longstanding warming of Sweden’s climate,”addedthe university.

In the mid-1990s,Kebnekaise’s south peak was measured as high as 2,118metres.

Arecent UN climate panel reportsaidglobal warming caused an unparalleled melting of glaciers and was close tospiralingout of control.

The Kebnekaise massif ispart of theLaponiaWorld Heritage Site. It islocated around 150 km (90 miles) north of the Arctic Circle in the Scandinavian mountains range that stretches across large parts of northern Norway and Sweden.