Alpine glaciers across Switzerland Alps melting? Know everything about this crisis

Alpine glaciers are melting across Swiss Alps.

Unfortunately, alpine glaciers that were formed over centuries and are a scenic delight across Switzerland, are disappearing at an alarming rate due to human-caused climate change. So, in a bid to save these glaciers, members of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology are keeping an eye on what's left, before they completely disappear. (Image: AP)

Alpine glaciers, or glaciers surrounded by mountains typically form in a cirque or high mountain basin where snow accumulates all year. Interestingly, the pace of accumulation of such types of glaciers at the top balances the rate of evaporation and melting at the bottom. (Image: AP)

Glaciologist Matthias Huss and his team use measuring and monitoring equipment to keep tabs on how much the glaciers have shrunk and desperately try to maintain their mass. Workers prepare giant sheets to cover the ice like blankets at the Rhone Glacier, one of the largest in the Alps, in order to protect it from the summer heat. Although these sheets are a short-term solution to protect them, they have proven to be a little effective. (Image: AP)

Last year, Swiss glaciers shed more than 6 percent of their volume frightening scientists, who say that a loss of 2 percent would once have been considered exceptional. If this continues at this rate then by the end of this century the Alpine glaciers are anticipated to disappear. (Image: AP)

The melting of these glaciers has both short-term and long-term effects. The short-term impact would be the water from glaciers melting contributing to the Alpine lakes and several other European rivers. Whereas the longer impact is the glaciers ultimately disappearing and accelerating water shortage issues of the entire continent. (Image: AP)