Last chance tourism. Crowds want to say goodbye to the glaciers before they disappear

The so-called Last-chance tourism threatens melting glaciers – reported Swiss Info, citing a report published by scientists from the University of Lausanne. Glacial landscapes could be “fallen to death”, experts have warned.

The increasingly widespread awareness of climate change, which irreversibly changes our surroundings, has caused the so-called last-chance tourism – it attracts people who want to say goodbye to disappearing landscapes. As a result, glaciers have become important tourist destinations, places of collective mourning and symbols of political importance, researchers said in a report published in the journal Nature Climate Change.

The most visited glaciers now attract more than 14 million tourists a year, researchers noted. The tourism industry is taking advantage of this interest, but many of its adaptation strategies may do more harm than good. Short-term technical solutions – such as covering glaciers with protective materials, expanding infrastructure or increasing helicopter access – could increase carbon dioxide emissions and deepen environmental degradation.

The authors called for further research and a more thoughtful policy regarding glacier tourism.

Glaciers are among the most important ecosystems on Earth. Found on every continent, they store approximately 70%. the world's freshwater supplies, stored by ice in the colder months and released in the warmer seasons. The disappearance of glaciers threatens the living conditions of approximately two billion people.

From 2000 to 2023, glaciers lost an average of 273 billion tons of ice each year.

Glaciologists predict that by 2041, approximately 2,000 may disappear from the Earth's surface. glaciers per year. Glaciers in the Alps may disappear in the next two decades. (PAP)

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