
The Hallstätter Glacier, the largest glacier in the mountain range in the Northern Limestone Alps (shared between Austria and Bavaria), is beyond saving, even in the most optimistic climate scenarios. This was reported by Climate Protection Minister Leonore Gewessler and Upper Austrian State Councilor Stefan Kaineder (both from the Green Party) during an inspection on Wednesday. They, along with glaciologist Andrea Fischer, are calling for decisive climate protection measures. Klaus Reingruber, who leads the research on the glacier, warns that rock islands emerging from the ice surface are accelerating the melting.
“Since the beginning of the measurement program in 2006, the Hallstätter Glacier has lost a third of its mass—more than 56 million cubic meters out of an original 152 million cubic meters—and around 800,000 square meters of the eternal ice have been irretrievably lost,” according to the documents provided for the press tour. The glacier melt continues unabated.
“It could become warmer in the second half of this century than it has been in the last 1.5 million years,” explained glaciologist and 2023 Scientist of the Year Andrea Fischer. The environmental consequences are unpredictable, such as where there might still be safe places for settlements. Adaptation measures would become impossible. “The best alternative is to limit climate change. This is what we are learning from many measurement series worldwide, including here at the Hallstätter Glacier.”
“The glacier melt is a warning signal—if we do not act boldly now and protect the climate decisively, it will be too late. The mountains and this planet, as we know them, will have irreversibly changed,” warns Gewessler. The frequency and intensity of storms are increasing due to the climate crisis, with a “strong upward trend. Renaturing instead of cementing is the key if we want to better protect ourselves from the fatal consequences of the warming,” Kaineder demands.
In October, the 18th report of the research project “Climate and Mass Balance of the Hallstätter Glacier” will be published, which will once again be negative. While the massive mass loss was initially measurable primarily in the lower half of the glacier, the entire glacier surface is now affected. “The fragmentation of the ice surface by emerging rock islands, which in turn accelerates the melting, is particularly striking,” notes Klaus Reingruber, head of the research project at BlueSky Weather Analysis, drawing a grim conclusion. The other three Dachstein glaciers are in a very similar state.
Since the project began in 2006, the Hallstätter Glacier has changed dramatically. Rocks, debris, frayed glacier edges, and increasing rockfall danger in some areas have made glaciologists’ work more difficult. Therefore, digital remote sensing methods are now being increasingly used, “soon including drones from the state of Upper Austria,” says Reingruber.
The Dachstein mountain station, at 2,700 meters in height, draws attention to climate change with the interactive installations “APPtauen” and “Digital Telescope” by the state of Upper Austria.