New photos vs old: comparisons show dramatic Swiss glacier retreat

A handout picture of the Trient Glacier taken in 1891 and released by ETH Library Zurich, is seen displayed at the same location on August 26, 2019. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse and Glaziologische Kommission der Akademie der Naturwissenschaften Schweiz/ETH Library Zurich/Handout via REUTERS

THE FURKA PASS, Switzerland (Reuters) - On the hairpin bend of a Swiss mountain pass, a Victorian-era hotel built for tourists to admire the Rhone Glacier has been abandoned now that the ice has retreated nearly 2 km (1.2 miles) uphill.

Where mighty glaciers once spilled into Swiss valleys like frozen rivers of ice, a residue of gray scree and boulders remains, spliced through with raging streams.

A handout picture of the Gorner Glacier taken in 1863 in Zermatt, Switzerland and released by ETH Library Zurich, is seen displayed at the same location on August 25, 2019. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse Glaziologische Kommission der Akademie der Naturwissenschaften Schweiz/ETH Library Zurich/Handout via REUTERS

A Reuters montage of images - showing photos of modern-day mountain landscapes next to archive shots of the same scenes decades earlier - reveals the dramatic change.

More than 500 Swiss glaciers have already vanished, and the government says 90% of the remaining 1,500 will go by the end of the century if nothing is done to cut emissions.

Their retreat is expected to have a major impact on water levels - possibly raising them initially as the ice melts but depleting them long term. Officials fear the changes could trigger rockfalls and other hazards and affect the economy.

The Rhone Glacier pictured in 1849 is seen in this handout image released by the ETH Library Zurich. Leo Wehrli/Verein Schweizerischer Geographie-Lehrer/ETH Library Zurich/Handout via REUTERS

The Belvedere Hotel, built in the 1880s during a surge in Alpine tourists, was an early victim of the decline. Once the scene of wild parties, it features in a James Bond car chase in "Goldfinger".

Visitors can still walk into a cave carved into the glacier. But the ice above is now draped with huge white sheets to reflect the sun's heat. Despite such efforts, melt waters have formed a green lake.

Down the valley, a mid 19th century photograph shows the glacier's bulging snout more than 100 meters thick. Now, animals graze and a river meanders on the same spot.

The Rhone Glacier and Belvedere Hotel are seen in the Swiss Alps in Obergoms, Switzerland August 21, 2019. Picture taken August 21, 2019. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

In another archive photograph taken in the late 19th century in front of the Aletsch glacier - the largest in the Alps - a man sits on a boulder in front of a huge ice channel that merges with the main ice stream below. Today, they no longer join.

Landlocked Switzerland is warming at twice the global rate and over the last year its glaciers have lost 2% of volume, said Mathias Huss, who heads Switzerland's glacier monitoring institute GLAMOS which has data stretching back 150 years.

"We have never seen such a fast rate of glacial decline since the measurements have started," he said.

A handout picture of the Aletsch Glacier in Fieschertal, Switzerland taken between 1860 and 1890 and released by Library of Congress, is displayed at the same location on September 4, 2019. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse and Library of Congress/Handout via REUTERS

Some hope that politics can make a difference, especially after the Greens surged in an October election. The "Glacier Initiative" calling for more climate measures collected more than the 100,000 signatures required to trigger a referendum and will be sent to Bern this week.

But the glaciers will keep shrinking, scientists say. "The Alps will still be beautiful in my opinion, but they will be different," Huss said.

A combination picture shows the Rhone Glacier as it was in 1849 (top), seen from Gletsch in Obergoms, Switzerland and on August 21, 2019 (bottom). Leo Wehrli/Verein Schweizerischer Geographie-Lehrer/ETH Library Zurich/Handout via REUTERS (top) and REUTERS/Denis Balibouse (bottom)

(Writing and additional reporting by Emma Farge; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

A combination picture shows the Trient Glacier as it was in 1891 (top), seen in Trient, Switzerland and on August 26, 2019 (bottom). Glaziologische Kommission der Akademie der Naturwissenschaften Schweiz/ETH Library Zurich/Handout via REUTERS (top) and REUTERS/Denis Balibouse (bottom)

A combination photo shows the Rhone Glacier and Belvedere Hotel pictured before 1938 (top), seen in Obergoms, Switzerland and on August 21, 2019 (bottom). ETH Library Zurich/Handout via REUTERS (top) and REUTERS/Denis Balibouse (bottom)

The Rhone Glacier and Belvedere hotel are pictured before 1938 in Obergoms, Switzerland in this handout picture released by the ETH Library Zurich. ETH Library Zurich/Handout via REUTER

A patch of snow is covered for tourists to use with slides later in the season on the Tsanfleuron Glacier near Les Diablerets in Switzerland, September 13, 2019. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

Water flows down the Trient Glacier on a hot summer day in Trient, Switzerland August 26, 2019. Picture taken August 26, 2019. Picture taken with a long exposure. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

The Cabane de Prarochet mountain hut is pictured next to the Tsanfleuron Glacier near Saviese in Switzerland, September 13, 2019. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

A camera is pictured in the ice cave of the Rhone glacier in Obergoms, Switzerland, August 21, 2019. Picture taken August 21, 2019. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

The Lac des Dix, a concrete gravity dam collecting water from the glaciers for the production of electricity, is seen in Heremence, Switzerland September 13, 2019. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

A combination picture shows the Eiger, Guggi and Giesen Glaciers photographed near the Jungfrau between 1890 and 1900 (top) in Wengen, Switzerland and on August 27, 2019 (bottom). Library of Congress/Handout via REUTERS (top) and REUTERS/Denis Balibouse (bottom)

A combination picture shows the Aletsch Glacier as it was in 1865 (top), seen from Belalp, Switzerland and on September 3, 2019 (bottom). Adolphe Braun/Glaziologische Kommission der Akademie der Naturwissenschaften Schweiz/ETH Library Zurich/Handout via REUTERS (top) and REUTERS/Denis Balibouse (bottom)

The Rhone Glacier is pictured in Furka, Switzerland August 21, 2019. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

A combination picture shows the Aletsch Glacier photographed between 1860 and 1877 (top) in Fieschertal, Switzerland and on September 4, 2019 (bottom). Adolphe Braun/Glaziologische Kommission der Akademie der Naturwissenschaften Schweiz/ETH Library Zurich/Handout via REUTERS (top) and REUTERS/Denis Balibouse (bottom)

Pilot David Germann flies an ultralight over glaciers near Martigny, Switzerland, September 13, 2019. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

The Aletsch Glacier is pictured from the Eggishorn in the Swiss Alps in Fieschertal, Switzerland September 4, 2019.EUTERS/Denis Balibouse

The Lower Grindelwald Glacier is seen in the Swiss Alps in Grindelwald, Switzerland August 27, 2019. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

The Aletsch Glacier is pictured in the Swiss Alps in Belalp, Switzerland September 3, 2019. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

People walk in the Ice Cave, covered with material to prevent the ice from melting, at the Rhone Glacier in the Swiss Alps at the Furka in Obergoms, Switzerland August 21, 2019. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

The Lower Grindelwald glacier is pictured in 1858 in Grindelwald, Switzerland in this handout picture released by the ETH Library Zurich. Glaziologische Kommission der Akademie der Naturwissenschaften Schweiz/ETH Library Zurich/Handout via REUTERS

The Eiger, Guggi and Giesen Glaciers are pictured near the Jungfrau in the Swiss Alps in Wengen, Switzerland August 27, 2019. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

The Eiger, Guggi and Giesen Glaciers are pictured near the Jungfrau between 1890 and 1900 in Wengen, Switzerland in this handout picture released by the Library of Congress. Library of Congress/Handout via REUTERS

A woman takes a picture of the Ice Cave, covered with material to prevent the ice from melting, at the Rhone Glacier at the Furka, in Obergoms, Switzerland August 21, 2019. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

The remains of the Diablerets and Tsanfleuron Glaciers are pictured from Saviese in Switzerland, September 13, 2019. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

The Trient Glacier is pictured in 1891 in Trient, Switzerland in this handout picture released by the ETH Library Zurich. Glaziologische Kommission der Akademie der Naturwissenschaften Schweiz/ETH Library Zurich/Handout via REUTERS

Cracks are pictured on the Trient Glacier in Trient, Switzerland September 13, 2019. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

A Jungfraubahn train is pictured in front of the Eiger Glacier in Wengen, Switzerland August 27, 2019. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

People sit above the Aletsch Glacier in the Swiss Alps at the Eggishorn in Fieschertal, Switzerland September 4, 2019. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

A combination picture shows the Lower Grindelwald Glacier seen in Grindelwald, Switzerland in 1865 (L) and on August 26, 2019 (R). Glaziologische Kommission der Akademie der Naturwissenschaften Schweiz/ETH Library Zurich/Handout via REUTERS (L) REUTERS/Denis Balibouse (R)

The Aletsch Glacier is pictured from the Eggishorn between 1860 and 1877 in Fieschertal, Switzerland in this handout picture released by the ETH Library. Adolphe Braun/Glaziologische Kommission der Akademie der Naturwissenschaften Schweiz/ETH Library Zurich/Handout via REUTERS

The Aletsch Glacier pictured in 1865 is seen in Belalp, Switzerland in this handout picture released by the ETH Library Zurich. Adolphe Braun/Glaziologische Kommission der Akademie der Naturwissenschaften Schweiz/ETH Library Zurich/Handout via REUTERS

The moraine of the Tsijiore Nouve Glacier is pictured in the Swiss Alps near Arolla in Switzerland September 13, 2019. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

Hikers cross the suspension bridge over the Massa River coming from the Aletsch Glacier in the Swiss Alps in Belalp, Switzerland September 3, 2019. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse