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Climate Change

This glacier was featured on a postcard in 1900. A satellite captured where it is today.

A lot has changed since 1900.

Credit: Wikicommons and Credit: European Union, Copernicus Sentinel-2 imagery

The Pasterze Glacier in a 1900 postcard and in March 2025

125 years ago, the Pasterze glacier in the Austria's Eastern Alps was postcard perfect: Snowy peaks. Windswept valleys. Ruddy-cheeked mountain children in lederhosen playing "Edelweiss" on the flugelhorn.

But a lot has changed since 1900. Much of it has changed for the better. We've eradicated smallpox, Hitler is dead, and the song "Billie Jean" exists now. On the downside, the Earth has gotten hotter. A lot hotter. From June 2023 to May 2024 each month was the hottest ever recorded in the planet's history. July 2023 was the planet's hottest month — ever. Unsurprisingly, man-made climate change has wreaked havoc on the planet's glaciers — including the Pasterze, which is Austria's largest. Just how much havoc are we talking about? Well, this is how the Pasterze Glacier looked in a 1900 postcard:

Pasterze, Pasterze Glacier, climate change, weather, glacierThe Pasterze Glacier in a 1900 postcardImage via Wikicommons


And this is how it looks now in March 2025:

Pasterze Glacier, Pasterze, Austria, climate change, alps, Eastern AlpsWhat's left of the Pasterze GlacierEuropean Union, Copernicus Sentinel-2 imagery

First measured in 1851, the glacier lost half of its mass between that year and 2008. A marker placed in 1985 shows where the edge of the glacier reached just 40 years ago. You can still see the ice sheet, but just barely, way off in the distance. In between is ... a big, muddy lake. The view from the glacial foot marker from 1995 — 10 years later — isn't much more encouraging. Even in just one year, 2015, the glacier lost an astounding amount of mass — 177 feet, by some estimates.

Overall, it is estimated that the glacier has retracted by 980 feet since the park first opened in 1963.

Ice continues to melt daily, and while the dripping makes for a good photo, it's unfortunate news for planet Earth. Glacial melting is one of the three primary causes of sea-level rise. Pasterze is still technically the largest glacier in Austria and the Eastern Alps at approximately 6.2 miles. And even in its reduced form, Pasterze remains a significant tourist destination.


- YouTubewww.youtube.com


According to a European Environment Agency report, the average temperature in the Alps has increased 2 degrees Celsius in the last 100 years — double the global average. It's not unreasonable to assume that that's why this mountain hut has been abandoned by the flugelhorn-playing children who once probably lived in it.

Is there anything we can do to stop the Pasterze Glacier from disappearing?

There are efforts underway to save Pasterze and other significant glaciers. However, Gerhard Lieb, the co-leader of the Austrian Alpine Club described the glacier's retreat as "unstoppable" with predictions that it and Austraia's other major glaciers will be gone in as little as 45 years. It would take decades of meaningful counter climate change initiatives, with even the existing ones being too slow for meaningful action, "and the time is up,” Lieb said. “That means nothing can be done anymore.”

This article originally appeared 10 years ago. It has been updated with new information.

climate change
Heroes

Greenland turning rainbow-colored seems funny, but the truth behind it is no joke.

Greenland is supposed to look like this, right?

[rebelmouse-image 19529223 dam="1" original_size="750x491" caption="Photo from David Mark/Pixabay." expand=1]Photo from David Mark/Pixabay.

So why are parts of it starting to look like this?

Colored ice down in Antarctica. Photo from Serge Ouachée/Wikimedia Commons.

That's no snow cone.

It's ice down in Antartica, and Greenland's stating to look that way too. The normally pale ice that covers 80% of the islands' surface has been turning some weird colors recently — green, yes, but also brown, and pink, and red.

What the heck is going on here? The answer: teeny, tiny, microscopic algae.

Out on the ice might seem like a weird place for anything to grow, but for cold-adapted algae, it's home. They can come in a wide range of colors. There are even pink species that create so-called "watermelon snow."

[rebelmouse-image 19529225 dam="1" original_size="750x413" caption="Watermelon snow near Mount Rainier. Photo from brewbooks/Flickr." expand=1]Watermelon snow near Mount Rainier. Photo from brewbooks/Flickr.

This is more important than you might think, especially if you live on the coast.

Dark colors absorb more sunlight, which makes those spots out on the ice warmer. This is known as the albedo effect and could make the ice sheet melt faster, which is in turn connected to sea level rise. Researchers say hundreds of cities and towns in the United States could flood thanks to rising sea levels.

These colorful changes are pretty incredible, but they're also evidence the Earth is changing.

There are still things we can do to help head off the worst effects of climate change, but this is a serious problem, and we need to take it seriously. If we don't, Greenland might really start living up to it's name.

Heroes

Everyone loves before-and-after glacier pics. But do you know what comes after the after?

Watching a mighty glacier recede before your eyes can be stunning.

The Mendenhall Glacier receded about 1,800 feet between 2007 and 2015. Images from James Balog via AP.

To see something so huge rendered so ephemeral in just a simple pair of images.

Switzerland's Stein Glacier lost about 1,800 feet between 2006 and 2015.

These before-and-after shots serve as powerful reminders of climate change.

The Trift Glacier in Switzerland lost nearly three-quarters of a mile between 2006 and 2015. Images from James Balog via AP and Matt Kennedy via AP.

Warmer weather has been shrinking glaciers around the world, from the Himalayas to the American West. These latest images are part of a set released by the Geological Society of America.

But they don't show the whole story.

What happens after the "after" photo?

When glaciers melt, that water runs into streams and rivers. But here's the thing: It matters when the water moves into streams and rivers.

Glaciers work like icy time machines. In many areas, glaciers and mountaintop snowpack trap winter precipitation that would have otherwise ended up flowing downstream, eventually to the ocean. They then release it during the warmer, drier summer, helping even out river levels year-round.

But as glaciers shrink, that time machine winds down. Rivers and lakes can't depend on that meltwater.

Ross Lake in northern Washington. In 2001, little rain and a light snowpack caused water levels to drop (top). The photo above is the lake at normal water level. Photos by David McNew/Newsmakers/Getty Images and Zengame/Flickr.

This is a major worry in many areas, such as in the Himalayas and the many highly populated countries their glaciers feed, but in America too. In the Pacific Northwest, declining snowpack might starve the mighty Columbia River.

Shrinking rivers have their own after-effects.

We depend on rivers for much more than just drinking water. Hydroelectric dams provide 70% of the Pacific Northwest's electricity. They feed agricultural projects and provide a habitat for salmon, trout, and other creatures. We play in them and on them. All of these things could be affected.

We still have the power to head off negative changes. Transitioning to cleaner energy sources such as wind and solar means fewer climate-affecting emissions, while more judicious water usage could help head off the worst effects.

So the next time you see one of these amazing before-and-afters, remember it's only the start of the story.

The Sólheimajökull Glacier in Iceland retreated more than 2,000 feet between 2007 and 2015. Images from James Balog via AP.

Heroes

Trump's EPA nominee isn't sure about climate change. He should see this Antarctica photo.

Oh, great!

Photo via NASA Earth Observatory

Just another Manhattan-sized chunk of Antarctica breaking off and scooting fancy free into the ocean.

Photo via NASA Earth Observatory.

The Pine Island glacier, where the break took place, also experienced large ice losses in 2014 and 2015. This cleavage is smaller, but still alarming to scientists, who fear the trend is accelerating.

"Such ‘rapid fire’ calving does appear to be unusual for this glacier," Ohio State University glaciologist Ian Howat said in a NASA press release.

This is really not a great time for solid ice on Earth.

The Antarctic iceberg's decision to peace out from the Pine Island glacier comes amid reports of frequent "heat waves" at the poles and record low amounts of sea ice.

Just three years ago, this — the largest-ever glacial cleaving caught on film — happened in Greenland:

GIF from "Chasing Ice"/Submarine Deluxe.

It's a good thing the new U.S. administration's incoming EPA chief is a responsible steward of the Earth, at one with nature, devoted to...

Photo by Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images.

... oh. Right. He's 100% not.

As Oklahoma attorney general, Scott Pruitt devoted much of his energy to suing the EPA — the very department he's been put forward to lead. Prior to his nomination, he bragged about being "a leading advocate against the EPA’s activist agenda."

He's also not so sure about this whole climate change thing being legit, which, you know...

GIF from "Chasing Ice"/Submarine Deluxe.

...is troubling. To say the least.

The Senate is scheduled to vote on Pruitt's nomination soon.

And there are some signs he might be in trouble.

Maine's Susan Collins is a "no" and John McCain is out of the house. That means just one more senator needs to flip if Pruitt is going to be rejected. A few have shown willingness to buck Trump on other priorities: Alaska's Lisa Murkowski, who voted against Betsy DeVos, Kentucky's Rand Paul, who has opposed several of the administration's proposed state department hires, and South Carolina's Lindsay Graham, who's been critical of Trump on national security issues.

If you live in one of those states, do give your senators a call. Now.

Save our ice!

The glacier, in happier, non-cleaved times. Photo via NASA Earth Observatory.

(And, you know, our coastal cities and civilization, while we're at it).

Update — 2/17/17, 1:21p.m. ET: Welp. Pruitt went through. Good try, everyone. You should still call your senators, though, and tell them to stand up to any attempt to roll back climate rules and legislation. Earth's glaciers are counting on you!

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