Glaciers worldwide are rapidly melting due to climate change. Rising global temperatures fuel the shrinking of these colossal ice formations. A man shared two pictures that show such changes in Switzerland’s Rhone Glacier. His post sadly captures the glacier’s devastating state.
“Fifteen years minus one day between these photos. Taken at the Rhone glacier in Switzerland today. Not gonna lie, it made me cry,” X user Duncan Porter wrote and posted two pictures.
The first photo shows him and a woman standing against the backdrop of the white glacier. However, the picture taken after 15 years captures a very different situation.
As per a LinkedIn post by a charity, Protect Earth, which finds ways to “combat the escalating climate and biodiversity crises,” Porter is a volunteer who puts time, money, and effort to do his part in protecting environment.
Take a look at the pictures of the glacier here:
With over 1.8 million views, the share has also accumulated tons of comments from people, with many showing their concerns over the melting glacier.
How did X users react to these photos?
“You’re both doing far better than the glacier,” wrote an individual. “Glaciers have been retreating since the 1800s,” added another.
A third posted, “Oh… the snow… oh my goodness… We’re never going to GET back.” A fourth commented, “People grow old and hairlines, and glaciers recede. That’s life on earth! Long after we’re dust, glaciers will once again cover Earth. Fact.”
According to the New York Times, Daniel Farinotti, one of Europe’s premier glacier scientists who studied Rhone, shared that the glacier has retreated about half a km since 2007 and that a big glacial pond is forming at its base.
“The darker the surface, the more sunlight it absorbs and the more melt that’s generated,” Farinotti told the outlet. It is projected that Rhone, one of the country’s biggest glaciers, will shrink by at least 68 per cent by the end of the century.
What are your thoughts on this man’s pictures that show the devastating impact of climate change on a glacier?