2023-06-24 15:13:43
We learned this spring that the summer sea ice in the Arctic will no doubt have disappeared by 2030, ten years ahead of initial forecasts. The latest news shows that the seriousness of the situation has been underestimated, but all is not lost according to glaciologist Heïdi Sevestre.
Europe is warming twice as fast as the rest of the world. The glaciers there have never melted as much since the start of the measurements as in 2022 (more than 5 km3 of ice in one year in the Alps), indicated at the start of the week a study by the UN and the European program Copernicus.
In addition, we learned on Tuesday that the ice of the Himalayas could largely disappear by the end of the century. The finding is alarming and the melting of the ice far exceeds the predictions of specialists.
>> To read also: The glaciers of the Himalayas are melting at an unprecedented rate
Quickly obsolete models
Glaciologist Heïdi Sevestre works for the Arctic Council’s Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program and teaches at the University of Svalbard in northern Europe. For the specialist, everywhere in the world, ice is the best climate barometer: “Whether it is our mountain glaciers or the pack ice in the far north in the Arctic, this ice reacts very quickly to changes in the climate. Science is progressing and trying to move at the speed of the changes. But now we realize that we may have been a little conservative and that, in the end, things are happening even faster than our models showed, “explains her in the show Tout un monde.
Things are happening even faster than our models showed
Heidi Sevestre, glaciologue
If our models and our predictions are quickly obsolete, science is also progressing rapidly, recalls Heïdi Sevestre: “We have this chance to constantly improve our techniques, our technologies. Also improve the quantity of data that we manage to collect, that whether in the confines of the planet or in the high mountains. All this allows us to improve our knowledge.”
But for the glaciologist, the problem comes mainly from the fact that we underestimate the speed of climate change: “We continue to emit a lot of greenhouse gases and we realize that this ice reacts even faster than We didn’t think so,” she said.
>> Reread our large format on Svalbard: Svalbard, showcase of global warming
Ice cream needed
Yet humanity needs glaciers. In Switzerland, mountain glaciers make the best “water towers”. “It’s quite great that, every summer, we expect to receive free water from our mountain glaciers”, slips Heidi Sevestre. More than ever, while Europe is going through a major drought, we realize how much snow in the spring and water from the glaciers in the summer are necessary. Our mountain glaciers are used in particular to irrigate our crops, to maintain the flow of rivers, but also, in France, to cool nuclear power plants. “On Earth, just over two billion people need the water from these mountain glaciers,” adds the glaciologist.
It’s pretty great that every summer we expect to receive free water from our mountain glaciers
Heidi Sevestre, glaciologue
Switzerland depends on glaciers for its hydroelectricity. As for the other glaciers, they are just as essential to humanity: the pack ice in the north, in the Arctic, helps stabilize the climate. The polar caps, Greenland and Antarctica, have a great influence on sea level rise. “Even if we don’t think about these glaciers on a daily basis, we are extremely dependent on them,” says Heïdi Sevestre.
The retreat of glaciers is already having an impact on our daily lives. For the glaciologist, if today we still receive a lot of water from mountain glaciers, the trend could well change in ten to fifteen years.
View of the Morteratsch glacier (GR). [Gian Ehrenzeller – Keystone]
Some consequences are already visible: last summer, the collapse of a glacier in the Dolomites, Italy, due to a pocket of water formed in the glacier following record temperatures, claimed eleven victims. In addition, melt lakes are now forming next to some glaciers. This is the case for example in Chamonix, France, which could endanger entire villages when these lakes threaten to drain.
>> Read again: An eleventh victim identified after the collapse of the Marmolada glacier
>> To read also: The Valais monitors its glaciers, which risk collapsing with the heat wave
A little hope
Despite these worrying findings, the glaciologist remains optimistic. “There is hope and it’s really very important to say it. But we say that if, and only if, from this week, from next month, we put things in place”, underlines Heidi Sevestre, which welcomes initiatives such as the climate law voted last Sunday by the Swiss people.
For the specialist, it is still possible to save a large part of these glaciers. A scientific study published at the end of 2022 indicates that we will lose around half of the 200,000 to 220,000 existing glaciers on Earth by the end of the century. “These are mostly low-lying glaciers, the small glaciers that react very quickly to climate change. But that means the fate, the future of the other half of the glaciers on Earth is truly in our hands today,” explains the glaciologist.
There is no magic wand: to save the glaciers, we must stop funding fossil fuels
Heidi Sevestre, glaciologue
“There is no magic wand: to save the glaciers, we must stop financing fossil fuels. It depends on each and every one of us and it is really collective actions like the climate law that can really make a difference. the difference. […] Me, I get up in the morning telling myself that we are lucky to be able to save humanity, save the glaciers, but that requires changes. The game is well worth the candle”, concludes Heïdi Sevestre. For the specialist, humanity is at a turning point and can envisage an “even more desirable” future if it gives itself the means.
>> To read also: After the failure of 2021, the Swiss people this time give their approval to the climate law
Interview by Eric Guevara-Frey
Web adaptation: Lara Donnet
To read: “Climate Sentinel” by Heidi Sevestre, published by Harper Collins, April 2023.
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