Melting Swiss Glacier produces beautiful Caves

In Eastern Switzerland, caves are being produced by torrential meltwater as it carves out tunnels in a glacier. And keen adventurers are taking advantage of the potentially dangerous and short-lived beauty before they completely disappear.

The Morteratsch glacier in eastern Switzerland, is the largest one in the country and third largest in the eastern Alps. But because of climate change, it's melting. And now, as the water surges through, and the warm air currents flow into the gaps, it's creating amazing tunnels and caves.

Hikers are keen to get a rare glimpse inside the short-lived and potentially lethal ice cavities.

It's safer for walkers to visit these during the cold winter months but in the summer, they become extremely dangerous or even inaccessible due to the risk of collapsing ice blocks and powerful water streams.

Switzerland is home to more than half of the glaciers in the Alps, but due to climate change, temperatures in the region are rising at nearly twice the global average.

If greenhouse gas emissions continue to increase, the Alps’ glaciers are projected to lose more than 80% of their current mass by 2100.
 

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