Austrian glaciers continues to recede in 2011: expert
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E-mail Xinhua, April 7, 2012
Glaciers in Austria retreated by 17 meters on average in 2011 due to warmer climate conditions and reduced precipitation, a glacier expert said on Friday.
According to Andrea Fischer, director of the Austrian Alpine Club-Glacier Monitoring Service, about 97 percent of all glaciers in Austria had receded to various extent in 2011, whereas the rest three percent remained largely unchanged.
Fifteen of the glaciers lost more than 30 meters, Fischer said in the western Austrian city of Innsbruck.
In particular, the glaciers in the valley of Otztal retreated by 64.5 meters last year, said the expert.
Fischer said that high temperatures brought by an early summer in 2011 were among the major reasons leading to the increasing melting of glaciers in Austria. Relatively low precipitation last year also contributed to the decline in the size of the glaciers, she added.
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