Will glacier waterfalls disappear?


European Waterfalls logo defNovember 2016, by Olaf Helwig

Krimmler wasserfälle

 

There is a lot of research done what the effect of global warming is on glaciers. The amount of greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide is one of them) is rapidly growing. The average worldwide temperature has risen between 0.4 and 0.8 °C over the past century.

Places where the consequences of global warming is clearly visible is on the polar ice cap and glaciers. Especially glaciers in Austria are melting rapidly.

Many waterfalls (the best ones) are fed by melting ice from glaciers in the summer months. But for how long?

In 2015 I was in Austria and the temperature was for weeks above the 30C. I was already worried about the rapidly melting of glaciers, but 2015 was a very bad year.

A higher CO2 emissions and the global warming has dramatic consequences. After some research I discovered the following:
The rainfall in Austria, in the last two years, was approximately 40% lower than previous years and in summertime there was an enormous increase in temperatures. With these two facts you can make a conclusion that this is not good for the existence of glaciers.

One of the most famous waterfalls in Europe is supplied by a small glacier, the Krimmler Kees. The Krimmler Wasserfälle is one of the most beautiful and powerful waterfalls in Austria and I enjoy it every time (five time until now) I visited the waterfalls. The only question is for how long?

On the short term I don’t worry to much, but the power of the Krimmler Wasserfälle will decrease in a high temp in in a few decades. That is also the reason why I post this photo of the Krimmler Wasserfälle, enjoy the waterfall now it is still possible.

If you wan’t to react or want to add something to this article please email me on the contact page.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *