The surface area of the Marmolada
glacier in the Dolomites dropped to 112 hectares in 2022 as the
glacier continues to shrink rapidly while global temperatures
rise, according to data released on Wednesday.
In the coming years the glacier's surface area will be under a
square kilometer, half the level of 2000 and a quarter of the
level of 1900, according to measurements made by experts from
Padua University, the Italian Glaciological Committee and
Veneto's ARPAV environmental protection agency.
"The retreat (of the glacier) at the greatest point of
regression is close to 90 metres a year, with an average retreat
of 20 metres a year," said Mauro Varotto, the head of the team
measuring the glacier.
The world's glaciers, an important source of fresh water, have
been shrinking rapidly in recent years due global heating caused
by human greenhouse gas emissions.
Last year 11 people were killed when a serac collapsed on the
Marmolada, following a heatwave in which abnormally high
temperatures were registered.
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