Human Remains, Plane Wreckage Trapped in Ice for Decades Released by Receding Glaciers in Switzerland Last week a plane was discovered on the Aletsch glacier in the canton of Valais, Switzerland, which had crashed more than half a century ago. While the bodies had been found at the time of the plane crash, the actual plane could not be recovered due to a lack of appropriate equipment 54 years ago. The plane had crashed on […] Julia Schneemann | August 12, 2022 0 Comments
USA Poised to Reclaim Leadership Role in Climate Change Debate as House of Representatives Votes on Inflation Reduction Act This Friday On August 7 the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) passed the Upper Chamber of the US Congress. The House of Representatives will vote on this act on Friday the 12th. The IRA is a compromise on the previously proposed Build Back Better Act (BBBA). In a nutshell, the IRA aims to raise $739 billion of which roughly half ($369 billion) will […] Industry News Julia Schneemann | August 10, 2022 2 Comments
Popular Alpine Hiking Routes in The Alps Closed Due to Summer Heatwave The Europen dog days of summer have forced yet another activity to shut down. The current heatwave is causing popular alpine hiking routes across The Alps to close because snow is melting too quickly. Every summer, heaps of tourists come from all over the world to visit the area for hiking, climbing, and summer activities. However this year the extreme […] Nick DeRiso | August 8, 2022 2 Comments
Freezing Line Breaks All-Time Altitude Record in Switzerland Concerning news from Switzerland was reported last week when the MeteoSwiss weather balloon recorded a new all-time high for the freezing line at 5,184m (17,008 ft). ย MeteoSwiss, the federal office of meteorology and climatology of Switzerland, carries out a twice-daily measurement in their Payerne office via a radio-sounding balloon to measure important meteorological values in the atmosphere. This measurement puts […] Weather Julia Schneemann | August 5, 2022 2 Comments
Forced to Close: Italian Summer Ski Resort Latest Victim of Record Heat The Italian ski resort Passo dello Stelvio, located at 2,758m (9,049 ft) joined the increasingly long list of European summer ski resorts closing due to the current heat wave ravaging Europe. All skiing on the glacier was suspended on July 20th after theย freezing altitude exceeded 4,400m (14,436 ft) on several days. The General Director Umberto Capitani calls it aย temporary suspension […] Industry News Julia Schneemann | August 4, 2022 0 Comments
‘Year-Round’ Swiss Ski Resort Zermatt Closes Due to Extremely Warm Temperatures and Rapid Snowmelt High in the Swiss Alps, Zermatt usually stays open all year, never halting its lifts for a day because of the perpetually snow-covered glacier it’s built on. But with severe heatwaves impacting all of Europe, this is no ordinary summer and the world-class ski area has closed its skiing operations for the time being. The resort, which is the highest […] Industry News SnowBrains | July 27, 2022 1 Comment
Two Pictures 104 Years Apart Show Disturbing Glacial Melt in Norway Global warming is taking its toll on the world’s glaciers. This could not be more drastically represented than by this side-by-side picture comparison. The original picture was taken in 1918. It shows such massive glaciers that you could barely see the impressive mountains behind them. In the second picture, it is the mountains that look massive. These photos show the […] Industry News Brent Thomas | June 30, 2022 1 Comment
New Utah Hazard Planning Tool Examines Past, Present, and Future Natural Hazards in the American West, Including Avalanches Western Water Assessment (WWA), a NOAA RISA team, has just released the Utah Hazard Planning Tool, which provides resources about the historical incidence, current risk, and future projections of natural hazards in Utah and the West as a whole.ย The resource provides links to online tools and data, and brief descriptions of the information and how to access it. The […] Industry News SnowBrains | June 27, 2022 1 Comment