Sweden loses its tallest peak to global warming
STOCKHOLM: Sweden has a new highest point. The Scandinavian country's highest peak lost its title this week because record heat has been melting away the tip of a glacier that sits atop the Kebnekaise mountain, experts say.
A month ago, the mountain's southern peak held the title, soaring to 2,101 metres above sea level.
On Tuesday, after weeks of high temperatures, it was 2,097 metres high - only 20 centimetres, or about six inches, taller than the north peak, said Professor Gunhild Rosqvist, head of the Tarfala Research Station near the mountain.
By Wednesday, enough had melted to take it below the critical height, Rosqvist said, handing the northern peak the crown. "We can estimate the melt rate based on temperature measurements. We know that it has melted because it is very hot," she said. "We are going to measure again later this summer when the melting stops. In a month, we'll know how bad it is."
The shrinking peak is symbolic of climate change that also brought marked shifts for animals and vegetation, she said, and badly affected the region's reindeer herders. July was the hottest on record in many parts of Sweden, with drought and some of the worst forest fires the country has seen.
Even if the northern peak is higher when the mountain is measured at summer's end, the southern tip is likely to grow again in winter. The peaks could then take turns as Sweden's highest point over the next few years.
The southern peak was first measured in 1880, when it stood at 2,123 metres. Its height has varied from year to year, growing in colder years and shrinking in warmer ones. But since 1995, it has shrunk almost a meter a year, with few exceptions, the newspaper 'Dagens Nyheter' reported.
Located in far northern Sweden, Kebnekaise is a popular tourist spot. Last year, 10,000 people reached the summit of the southern peak, a trip that usually takes 10 to 15 hours. But once the northern peak officially becomes the highest mountain, that could change as climbers seek to summit the new highest peak.
A month ago, the mountain's southern peak held the title, soaring to 2,101 metres above sea level.
On Tuesday, after weeks of high temperatures, it was 2,097 metres high - only 20 centimetres, or about six inches, taller than the north peak, said Professor Gunhild Rosqvist, head of the Tarfala Research Station near the mountain.
By Wednesday, enough had melted to take it below the critical height, Rosqvist said, handing the northern peak the crown. "We can estimate the melt rate based on temperature measurements. We know that it has melted because it is very hot," she said. "We are going to measure again later this summer when the melting stops. In a month, we'll know how bad it is."
The shrinking peak is symbolic of climate change that also brought marked shifts for animals and vegetation, she said, and badly affected the region's reindeer herders. July was the hottest on record in many parts of Sweden, with drought and some of the worst forest fires the country has seen.
Even if the northern peak is higher when the mountain is measured at summer's end, the southern tip is likely to grow again in winter. The peaks could then take turns as Sweden's highest point over the next few years.
The southern peak was first measured in 1880, when it stood at 2,123 metres. Its height has varied from year to year, growing in colder years and shrinking in warmer ones. But since 1995, it has shrunk almost a meter a year, with few exceptions, the newspaper 'Dagens Nyheter' reported.
Located in far northern Sweden, Kebnekaise is a popular tourist spot. Last year, 10,000 people reached the summit of the southern peak, a trip that usually takes 10 to 15 hours. But once the northern peak officially becomes the highest mountain, that could change as climbers seek to summit the new highest peak.