Landslides, rockfalls, and glacier collapses—like the recent one in Switzerland’s Lötschental valley—are expected to become more frequent due to climate change. Deutsche Welle says this warning comes from geologist Michael Krautblatter, a professor at the Technical University of Munich, as reported by.
Over the past 10–15 years, experts have recorded an increase in rockfalls at altitudes above 3,300 meters. Warming causes ice within cracks in mountain rocks to turn into water, forming columns of water that weaken rock stability and trigger landslides.
Hiking in the mountains is becoming more dangerous, Krautblatter notes. Research into the glacier collapse in Blatten—which buried an entire village—is ongoing. In the laboratory at the Technical University of Munich, geologists simulate the process by heating rock samples from -3 to 0 degrees Celsius in order to identify “hotspots” and better understand the conditions that cause such events.
“We’re trying to find out where the ‘hotspots’ in the Alps are, and at what temperatures these phenomena occur,” the geologist explained.
This research helps provide timely warnings to residents and ensure their safety, as was the case with the evacuation of Blatten.
On May 28, in the Swiss Alps, a massive chunk of snow, ice, and rock—a broken-off part of a glacier—collapsed into the Lötschental valley and covered the village of Blatten. Thanks to timely forecasts by specialists who had predicted the glacier’s movement, about 300 residents were evacuated before the disaster struck.
The following day, a three-day International Conference on Glacier Preservation opened in Dushanbe, with 2,500 delegates in attendance—including heads of state and government, senior officials, scientists, UN representatives, and environmental organizations. Participants also discussed the natural disaster that had just occurred in Switzerland.
