Italian glaciers continued to retreat in 2024 due to the impacts of climate change, according to a report published by Legambiente on Wednesday. The findings were presented during an event at Milan’s Bicocca University, marking International Mountain Day.
The Glaciological Committee and CIPRA Italia collaborated on the fifth annual report from Carovana dei Glaciai, titled The Effects of the Climate Crisis on Glaciers, the Alpine Environment, and Biodiversity. It highlights the alarming retreat of Alpine glaciers, which are becoming increasingly thinner and experiencing significant losses across the entire Alpine arc.
Adamello Glacier: A Symbol of Climate Change
The report singled out the Adamello Glacier as the “symbolic glacier” of 2024. As the largest glacier in the Italian Alps, it experienced a thickness loss of three metres in its frontal sector, with melting effects recorded up to 3,100 metres above sea level. A striking photograph taken in September reveals the glacier’s exposed tongue. This despite six metres of snow being measured on the Pian di Neve del Ghiaccio in late spring.
Other glaciers have fared no better. The Careser Glacier in the Ortles-Cevedale Group showed an average thickness loss of 190 centimetres. Similarly, in Alto Adige, the Vedretta Lunga Glacier (Val Martello) and the Vedretta di Ries Glacier (Valle Aurina) recorded thickness losses of 1.5 to 2 metres on their tongues.
A Call for Urgent Action
Legambiente stressed the need for immediate adaptation plans and policies at both national and regional levels to address the climate crisis. The organisation proposed a 12-point roadmap, with six general measures and six Alpine-specific recommendations, aimed at safeguarding mountain ecosystems, glaciers, and biodiversity.
These proposals will align with the upcoming International Year of Glaciers in 2025 and call for a European-wide commitment to addressing the crisis. Legambiente emphasised that Italy must play a significant role, particularly as 50% of the EU’s protected glacier sites under the Habitats Directive are located within its borders.
Protecting a Vanishing Habitat
Glaciers are among the environments designated as “Permanent Glaciers” under the Habitats Directive. Of the 123 sites of community importance containing glaciers, half are in Italy, highlighting the country’s responsibility in protecting these fragile ecosystems.
