Swiss Glacier’s Devastating Transformation
A tourist’s return to the Swiss Rhone Glacier after 15 years revealed a stark and emotional transformation. Duncan and Helen Porter, who first visited the glacier in August 2009, recently returned to recreate a cherished photo, only to find a dramatically altered landscape.
A glacial shift
In the original 2009 photo, the couple posed next to a vast expanse of ice. However, in the 2024 photo, much of the glacier has turned into a lake, with exposed rock replacing the once-thick blanket of snow. Duncan shared these poignant before-and-after images on X, formerly Twitter, with the caption: “Not gonna lie, it made me cry.”
Duncan’s post quickly went viral, eliciting sorrow and skepticism. While many expressed their sadness, some climate change deniers dismissed the change as natural variation.
Addressing these claims, Duncan acknowledged that while glaciers do naturally shrink and grow, such dramatic changes typically occur over much longer periods. He also rebutted criticism about the photo’s angle, stating, ‘We’re on holiday. It was never intended to be a bloody study. It’s obvious enough from the photo, if you have half a functioning brain.’
Duncan, a software developer, revisited the glacier with his wife and teenage daughters, Maisie and Emily. The family drove a campervan to Switzerland, where Duncan hoped to share a place that held sentimental value, only to be confronted with its drastic transformation. “But obviously the circumstance of this photo was drastically different,” he told The Guardian.
The reality of glacial melt
The retreat of the Alps’ glaciers is well-documented. Over 500 Swiss glaciers have disappeared, and the government warns that the remaining 1,500 could vanish by the century’s end if emissions are not reduced. This alarming trend has spurred a surge in “last chance” tourism, with visitors eager to witness these natural wonders before they disappear.
A grim forecast
Despite natural fluctuations, Switzerland’s glaciers experienced their second-worst melt rate in 2023, following record losses in 2022. According to GLAMOS, the monitoring body, the glaciers lost 10% of their volume in the last two years. The figures mean they lost as much ice in two years as in the three decades before 1990.
Duncan’s poignant photos serve as a powerful reminder of the urgent need to address climate change and protect our planet’s fragile ecosystems.