Two images comparing the same glacier in Switzerland 15 years apart have gone viral on social media, capturing the swift and devastating nature of rising global temperatures.
What's happening?
X user Duncan Porter from Bristol, England, posted photos of him and his wife Helen standing at the same spot in front of the Swiss Alps' Rhône Glacier.
The first picture, taken in August 2009, showed a thick white sheet of ice that extended to the peaks. It had all but retreated in the second one, taken in August 2024, exposing the gray rock on the mountainside and melting into a green lake that pooled at the bottom.
"Fifteen years minus one day between these photos. … Not gonna lie, it made me cry," Duncan wrote in his post on the platform formerly known as Twitter.
The Porters told the Guardian that they embarked on a camper van trip across Europe to share the experience of seeing the glacier with their teenage daughters.
"But obviously the circumstance of this photo was drastically different," Duncan said.
"I thought it was really unbelievable," Helen added.
Why are melting glaciers concerning?
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, around 75% of freshwater is stored in glaciers, making it the largest freshwater source on Earth. The National Snow and Ice Data Center at the University of Colorado Boulder notes that glacier melt can sustain stream habitats for flora and fauna while providing nutrients for phytoplankton — the foundation of aquatic and marine food webs.
The white, bright ice masses also help keep the planet cool by reflecting sunlight into space, per the World Wildlife Fund.
However, the accelerated rate at which they are melting can negatively impact their beneficial contributions and drive elevating sea levels, increasing the risk of coastal erosion and extreme weather events.
The problem is of particular concern in Switzerland, which has lost nearly 37% of its glacier volume since 2001 and 10% in the last two years alone, per research from the Swiss Academy of Sciences and Glacier Monitoring Switzerland.
"These things are supposed to happen over really long time periods," Duncan said to the Guardian. "What people should focus on is the speed of change."
What can I do to help slow melting glaciers?
"A lot of people, when they see something like that, they feel quite helpless," said Duncan, who is a committee member of his local climate action group. "But from my experience there's a huge amount they can do."
Duncan called on people to join local community efforts, vote for pro-climate candidates, and change their shopping habits to reverse the effects of Earth's overheating.
Other environmentally friendly adjustments we can make include walking and biking instead of driving, unplugging energy vampires, and ditching plastic bags for reusable alternatives.
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