Melting Glaciers in the Alps Redraw Border Between Switzerland and Italy
The Matterhorn mountain on the border between Italy and Switzerland, Sept. 2024. X/ @PamelaFalk
September 30, 2024 Hour: 9:36 am
Last year Swiss alpine glaciers lost 4 percent of their volume, the second-largest loss in history.
On Monday, the Swiss federal government reported that the country and Italy will make an adjustment to the section of their shared border that passes through the Swiss Alps due to the significant melting of glaciers located in that region.
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Part of the affected area is located below the Matterhorn, one of the highest mountains in Europe, which spans between the Swiss region of Valais and the Aosta Valley in Italy, where well-known ski resorts are found on both sides of the border. The Swiss government has officially approved the modification and announced that it will sign the corresponding convention, which will also need to be signed by Italy.
“In the high mountains, large sections of the Swiss-Italian border are determined by the watershed represented by the ridgeline of glaciers, snowfields, and permanent snow. As glaciers melt, these natural elements change, redefining the national border,” Swiss authorities explained.
With this agreement, both countries aim to determine which natural areas they are responsible for maintaining, a matter of particular importance given the accelerated glacier melt caused by global warming.
According to statistics from the Swiss Academy of Natural Sciences, last year Swiss alpine glaciers lost 4 percent of their volume, the second-largest loss in history, surpassed only by the record 6 percent loss in 2022.
Switzerland fears losing up to 90 percent of these ice masses by the end of the century due to climate change. A century ago, Switzerland had more than 4,000 glaciers within its territory, but a quarter of them have completely disappeared.
The Swiss government assured that the approval process for signing the agreement is also underway in Italy. The exact border changes have yet to be defined and will be implemented once the agreement has been signed by both parties and published.
teleSUR/ JF Source: Xinhua
