Highlighting concerns about global warming, Italian authorities now fear that part of the glacier on Mont Blanc, Europe's highest mountain, is at risk of collapse.
Experts have been monitoring the Planpicieux glacier on Mont Blanc for some time and concerns have been mounting in Italy that a section of the glacier is at risk of collapsing. They say recordings show the ice is sliding down at a speed of 50-60 centimeters a day. The mayor of the picturesque ski town of Courmayeur, Stefano Miserocchi, says at this rate the ice could break away in the month of October.
The mayor called a meeting for concerned residents and announced safety measures that include closing a mountain road and banning access to part of the Val Ferret, a popular hiking area outside of Courmayeur on the southern side of Mont Blanc, part of which lies in France. He warned that the situation is becoming more dangerous.
The mayor says the section of the mountain at risk of breaking off involves some 250,000 cubic meters of ice from the glacier. He said the possible scenarios that emerged from the studies that have been carried out show that the mountain road could be affected and that is why the civil defense department adopted this measure while close monitoring continues.
Miserocchi added that there is no way to know whether the section will come down all at once or in chunks. He reassured the population that inhabited areas are not at risk but some mountain huts have been evacuated.
Locals left the mayor’s meeting at the town council wondering what their fate will be but saying they are thankful the authorities are paying attention. One woman said there is not much that can be done against mother nature. The mayor said that it is a situation that mountain communities need to increasingly deal with because of climate change with increasing average temperatures that are causing grave consequences to the stability of glaciers.
The Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte also brought up the issue of the Mont Blanc glacier at risk of collapse on Wednesday at the U.N. General assembly, saying the possible collapse of the Mont Blanc glacier “is a warning that cannot leave us indifferent.”
Italy’s environment Minister Sergio Costa said the emergency shows “the need and urgency of a strong and coordinated action for climate, to prevent extreme events that risk dramatic consequences.”
Rising temperatures across the Alps have seen glaciers melting for some time. In recent years during the summer months in Italy, human corpses and even pieces of equipment from the First World War, that had been frozen in time more than a century ago, have been emerging.
