Located between Switzerland and Italy, the Matterhorn is one of the highest mountains in the Alps. Switzerland and Italy were forced to change their border under the summit of this iconic mountain due to melting ice caused by global warming, reports Bloomberg.
A redesigned border between Italy and Switzerland
The glaciers that marked the border between Switzerland and Italy are evolving as the melting of the ice increases. So much so that Italy and Switzerland had to redraw their border under the Matterhorn, a mountain located between the Zermatt region in Switzerland and the Aosta valley in Italy.
“Significant sections of the border are defined by watersheds or crests of glaciers, firn or eternal snow,” explained the Swiss government in a press release. “These formations are changing due to melting glaciers.”
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It took several years for the two countries to agree on the precise conditions of this new border. These changes were then validated by a joint Italian-Swiss commission in May 2023. Switzerland officially approved the treaty this Friday, September 27 but Italy has yet to sign it, specifies The Guardian.
The ski resort of Zermatt, very popular with winter sports enthusiasts, should be affected by these changes. Switzerland and Italy have in fact agreed to modify the border around the tourist sites of Testa Grigia, Plateau Rosa, Rifugio Carrel and Gobba di Rollin according to their economic interests, specifies Bloomberg.
Swiss glaciers lost 10% of their volume between 2022 and 2023
Europe is the fastest warming continent in the world. In 2022, glaciers in the Alps region lost 6% of their volume: this is the largest annual decline ever recorded according to the Swiss Academy of Natural Sciences. This figure rose to 4% in 2023, reducing the volume of Swiss glaciers by a total of 10% in just two years.
Furthermore, according to a study published in the journal of the European Geosciences Union, relayed by Bloomberg, glaciers will lose half of their ice by 2050, even if the planet warms by less than 2°C per year. compared to pre-industrial levels.
According to Italian experts, the Marmolada glacier – the largest in the Italian Dolomites – could melt completely by 2040 due to rising temperatures caused by climate change. In July 2022, a block of ice broke away from the glacier, killing eleven people.
