EVEN IN
OPTIMISTIC
CLIMATE
FORECASTS,
GLACIERS IN THE
ALPS WILL LOSE
TWO-THIRDS OF
THEIR ICE BY 2100.
Some of the ice
in the 26-mile-long
cave system known as
Eisriesenwelt—“World
of Ice Giants”—could
be more than a thou-
sand years old. Ice
forms inside because
cracks in the ceiling
allow snowmelt to
trickle into the cave in
spring, while warm air
rises out, keeping the
temperature below
freezing. Like glaciers
in the Alps, ice caves
deep inside mountains
are melting as the
planet warms. But this
one, a major tourist
attraction containing
more than 30,000
tons of ice, seems to
be holding on to its
ice for now—perhaps
because it has a door
at the entrance and
extra-large “chimneys”
to evacuate warm air.Werfen, Austria PHOTOGRAPH BY ROBBIE SHONE
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