Spain's largest glacier in terminal phase: Study

GENEVA

Spain's largest glacier, Aneto, is in a terminal state, according to a recent study by biologists and geographers.

The black mucus appearing on the ice surface trap heat, accelerate the melting of the ice, according to the scientists cited by the Spanish daily El Pais on Wednesday.

The ice is already melting rapidly in the region due to consecutive years of high summer temperatures, including heat waves in 2023.

The surface contracted 64.7% due to climate change between 1981 and 2022, researchers said on the study published by the European Geosciences Union/

"In recent years, the glacier has been losing a meter and a half of thickness per year. Taking into account that on average there is a median thickness of about 11 meters, in around 10 years Aneto will no longer be a glacier," said Nacho Lopez-Moreno, a researcher with the Pyrenean Institute of Ecology.

"But if we also see more summers like the one in 2022, it won’t hold out that long," he warned.