Could Global Warning be behind Italy’s Deadly Glacier Avalanche?

By Dana Malcolm

Staff Writer

#Italy, July 6, 2022 – Italian rescuers are still searching diligently but fears are that chances of finding survivors are dwindling after an avalanche killed six people and buried an unknown amount.

Today, thunderstorms are stalling search and rescue efforts.

The avalanche happened on Italy’s largest glacier, Marmolada, in the Italian Alps.  The avalanche occurred only one day after the highest temperatures ever recorded on the glacier spurring theories of global warming causing the snowfall.

So far six people have been confirmed dead, a member of the recovery team described them as “torn apart”.  Eight people were recovered alive but rescuers told AGI news agency that the chances of finding more were slim to none.

Videos of the collapse show a wave of ice and snow hurtling down the side of the mountain.  In one video the avalanche misses two hikers by mere yards.

Simon Trautman, an avalanche specialist at the U.S. Forest Service’s National Avalanche Center told National Geographic how deadly an avalanche can be.

“Disastrous avalanches occur when massive slabs of snow break loose from a mountainside.  The mass of snow shatters like broken glass as it races downhill.  These hazards can travel as fast as cars on a freeway, up to 100 miles per hour, he said.

Avalanche beacons are like personal GPS which allows rescuers to track an individual once they have been buried. It’s unclear if any of the victims were wearing one.

Rescuers say they are using machines that search for the body’s heat signals under the snow but after potential survivors spending hours in the freezing snow it’s unclear how effective they will be.