Despite the heat, in some places in the northern hemisphere you can still see snow-capped peaks who refuses to give them up. It was quite common in the past and remains today. However, little by little, these ice mountains will become more and more exceptional. There is more to see the entry that has just been discovered in Swiss Alpswhere the freezing temperature has reached higher values than ever.
According to Swiss Federal Office for Meteorology and Climatologytemperature at which water begins to freeze It was located in July this year at an altitude of 5184 meters.. As heatwaves were recorded, there was only one instance where the data exceeded 5,000 meters. It was in July 1995, but reached only 5117 metersso this time we can talk about an absolute record.
Now, what does it mean that the freezing point is so high? First of all, this means that we must accept once and for all that these heat waves are not normal. As much as the heat in the summer is normal, what’s been happening lately is not. And the worst thing is that it has only just begun.
Freezing point over the mountains of the Alps
known as zones eternal snow those in which, despite the summer heat and heat, the mountains remain snow-covered. There is less snow, of course, but it can be seen in greater or lesser amounts throughout the year.
Such survivability of ice is due to a number of reasons, among which, of course, high altitudes stand out. Finally, Freezing pointwhere the temperature is low enough for water to freeze, increases with height.
To this day, these eternal snows can be seen on large peaks such as Kilimanjaro or Everest. In some mountains of the Alps, they were also visible before, but not so long ago. Despite this, sounding balloons are still used to measure freezing temperatures at different heights of the mountain range. The Swiss Federal Office for Meteorology and Climatology is responsible for this. For this reason, it was from there that a warning was launched about this dangerous record that the heat wave brought us.
This year, freezing temperatures were found to be higher than ever. The highest mountain in Switzerland is Peak Dufour and measures 4634 meters. Therefore, this is well below those 5184 at which water can turn into ice. But if we go beyond the Swiss Alps and analyze the entire mountain range, we find that its highest mountain is different: Mont Blanc. The height of this peak, located between Italy and France, is 4806 meters. Therefore, its top is still very far from the freezing point.
The danger of heat waves
In the past few days, there has been a great deal of discussion between those who see the heat wave as a vague harbinger of what is to come, and those who see it as an exaggeration that summers have always been hot.
Clearly, high temperatures are normal at this time of the year. But there’s more to see a large number of heat waves that occurone by one to understand that this is not “normal”.
In addition, as if this is not enough, we have other indicators, among which just freezing point of the Alps. He has reached his highest position since records exist. Exactly during July where many other extreme heat wave measurements have been made.
And, without a doubt, this is a good way to predict what may soon happen at sea level. According to a 2015 study, places above 4,000 meters are getting warmer. 75% faster than below 2000 meters. What is happening today in the Alps will soon happen here, if action is not taken.
As snow falls less and less, those of us far below the clouds are still arguing instead of preparing for what’s to come. We still have time to do something about the heat wave, but for that we must be aware.
Source: Hiper Textual
