From the Guardian · · 1m 50s
Slovenia's Triglav glacier melts away
The ice that clung to Slovenia's highest peak for two decades has finally vanished after Europe's hottest summer on record.
In brief
The ice that clung to Slovenia's highest peak for two decades has finally vanished after Europe's hottest summer on record. Slovenia's Triglav glacier has completely melted after surviving two decades despite losing 93 percent of its surface area between 1983 and 2003, with extreme heat from Europe's hottest summer…
The final ice is gone
Slovenia's Triglav glacier has completely melted. Photos taken either side of snowfall in October confirm no ice remains on the mountain.
Decades of decline
The glacier lost 93 percent of its surface area between 1983 and 2003, shrinking to less than a hectare. It then survived two more decades before vanishing.
Rapid melt in recent years
In the last five years, which includes Europe's three hottest years on record, the remaining ice melted to isolated pockets. By summer's end, the main body measured just a few metres.
A symbol of national identity
Matija Zorn, director of the Anton Melik Geographical Institute, said Mount Triglav holds a central place in Slovenian national identity. The glacier's loss represents the loss of an important climate change indicator.
“holds a central place in Slovenian national identity”
Shocking speed of change
Zorn, who first measured the glacier in 2001, said the rate of change was surprising.In 2002 he took an ice core five metres deep.The next year, standing on the same spot, he found only rock.
“The melting is incredible.”
Wider Alpine crisis
Swiss glaciologists found that nearly a fifth of Switzerland's ice disappeared in the last five years, with a 5.5 percent drop in volume in 2026. Fierce heatwaves have reduced big glaciers to moonlike rock deserts.
What was once thought eternal
Miha Pavšek, a glaciologist and mountain guide, said nature is changing in front of our eyes but people are not taking it seriously. He has a photograph of his parents at the glacier in 1957.
“There are some things that humans thought were eternal. Glaciers are obviously not.”
The main idea
Slovenia's Triglav glacier has completely melted after surviving two decades despite losing 93 percent of its surface area between 1983 and 2003, with extreme heat from Europe's hottest summer accelerating its final disappearance.
