'Mysterious Corpse' Found in the Alps... The Culprit is Global Warming

Man Traveling with Skis Found in 2001
Old Body Also Discovered in Same Area Last June
Glacier Melting in Mountainous Region Due to Climate Change Reveals Remains

Due to climate change, glaciers in the mountainous regions of the European Alps are melting, leading to the discovery of the bodies of people who went missing decades ago.

The photo is not directly related to the content of the article. [Image source=Pixabay]

On the 23rd (local time), US CNN and other media reported that the body of a man presumed to have died in 2001 was found in the Schlatenkees glacier area in East Tyrol, Austria. The location where the body was found is approximately 2,900 meters above sea level.

A local climbing guide accidentally discovered the body and reported it to the police, and the body was transported by helicopter.

The police stated that the man appeared to have had an accident while traveling with ski equipment in 2001.

A backpack found next to the body contained cash, bank cards, and a driver's license. Through these items, the police tentatively identified the man as an Austrian who was 37 years old at the time of death. The exact identity will be confirmed through DNA testing in the coming weeks.

In June, personal belongings and skeletal remains of a person were also found in the Schlatenkees glacier, and DNA testing is underway. This is also presumed to have been buried under ice for several decades.

A police spokesperson said, "It is rare and exceptional for bodies to be found in the same glacier within such a short interval."

Earlier, on the 12th, the body of an Italian man was found on the Matterhorn in Switzerland; he was reported missing in March 2019 while skiing on the Matterhorn.

On the 29th of last month, remains of a German man who went missing in 1986, along with his hiking boots and crampons, were discovered around the Theodul glacier area in Zermatt, Switzerland.

"The next generation will face an Alps where glaciers have disappeared in most areas"

Dr. Lindsey Nicholson, a glaciologist at the University of Innsbruck, Austria, said last month, "Glaciers are melting gradually over a long period," and noted that recent low snowfall suggests this trend will continue.

According to Greenpeace, between 2019 and 2022, the Schlatenkees glacier, where the bodies were found, lost as much as 60 to 100 meters of ice.

Research shows that even if climate change mitigation goals are achieved, half of the world's glaciers could disappear by the end of this century, causing many problems such as rising sea levels due to melting glaciers.

Dr. Nicholson expressed concern, saying, "If we continue to emit greenhouse gases as we do now, the coming generation will face an Alps where glaciers have disappeared in most areas. This is very sad."

Meanwhile, this summer, amid a heatwave in Europe with temperatures soaring above 40 degrees Celsius, the freezing point altitude in the Swiss Alps rose to 5,298 meters, the highest ever recorded. This broke the previous record of 5,184 meters set in July 2022, just one year ago.

As a result, the Swiss Meteorological Office reported that the perennial snow on Mont Blanc (4,808 meters), the highest peak in the Alps located between France and Italy, will no longer be able to endure.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.