Slovenia loses Alpine glaciers to rising temperatures

Slovenia is experiencing a significant loss of its Alpine glaciers due to rising temperatures and declining winter snowfall. The glacier on Mount Triglav, the country’s highest peak, completely melted away following a record hot and dry summer in Europe.

The nation’s last remaining glacier, Skuta, located in the Kamnik-Savinje Alps, is also shrinking irreversibly. According to geographer Miha Pavsek of the Anton Melik Geographical Institute, Skuta originally contained between 2.5 and 3 hectares of ice, but it has now thinned to just a few meters and covers approximately 1.5 hectares.

Local mountain guides note that the changes have become particularly striking over the last decade. Historically, these glaciers served as vital water reservoirs for surrounding valleys and provided icy hollows used by shepherds for food preservation, though such features are no longer found.