00:00Hello and welcome to Climate Now, here from the Stubai Glacier in Austria, which is disappearing
00:10rapidly at the moment, and within 20 years all of this ice will be gone.
00:15So what impact is that having on this environment and in the valleys below?
00:20We have an increased risk of flooding, heavy rainfall, and destabilization of rock faces
00:27that can also affect the valley areas.
00:34Well, that's our story coming up, but first the very latest data from the Copernicus Climate
00:38Change Service, which shows that globally the period from June to August this year was
00:43the warmest on record, with temperatures 0.7 degrees Celsius above the 1991-2020 average.
00:51This graph of global monthly temperature anomalies since 1979 puts the record warm period into
00:57perspective.
00:58It indicates how average temperatures have gradually risen over the past decade.
01:03The average temperature across Europe this summer also rose to a record high.
01:07It was wetter than average in western and northern Europe, and drier than average in
01:11eastern Europe and the Mediterranean.
01:14These maps show the precipitation and soil moisture anomaly for the summer period.
01:18The hot and dry weather across the Balkans and Italy is clearly visible, while the region
01:23from France to Scandinavia saw more rain than average.
01:29Now to our report on the dramatic changes underway here in the High Alps, one of the
01:34fastest warming regions of Europe.
01:38The Stubai Glacier has lost at least 20 metres of depth in the past two decades, and soon
01:43it will be gone, according to glaciologist Andrea Fischer.
02:02Melting glaciers and thawing permafrost mean
02:04an increase in fine rocky dust in the streams below.
02:16The rise in sediment is a headache for industrial plants and hydroelectric dams downstream.
02:22What's more, the water contains harmful substances that used to be trapped in the permafrost.
02:34It contains heavy metals such as uranium and nickel.
02:38We have to make sure that the concentrations are not too high, so that our water supply
02:45in the lakes is not endangered.
02:51Thawing permafrost is often responsible for high-altitude rock slides like this.
02:57Andrea shows us a spot where a footpath has been closed recently because of the higher
03:01risk of rock slides.
03:03Strange events have always happened here, but climate change is making them more frequent
03:07and unpredictable.
03:27That risk above 2,500 metres is echoed by the head of the mountain rescue in the village
03:32of Galtur.
03:33Although tourists in the valley can safely enjoy the trails, he says the situation at
03:37high altitude is complicated by climate change.
04:03Such dangers may only last a few decades, because once the ice is gone, these mountains
04:07will be covered by stabilising green plants even at high altitude.
04:12Fundamentally, the Alps are going to change colour.
04:33Well, that's all we have time for, but please head over to euronews.com slash climate now
04:39to find out a lot more about how our planet is changing.
04:43And I'll see you next time.
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