In case you have not thought about it.
On International Mountain Day, we recognise the significance of mountain ranges and the crucial role that mountain regions play in the water cycle, primarily through the presence of glaciers. Glaciers are vast reserves of ice and snow distributed across the planet. They support ecosystems and communities, yet they are undergoing rapid and concerning changes with potentially far-reaching consequences.
These images, acquired by one of the Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellites on 1 September 2025 and 30 August 2015, show the decrease in ice extent across the glaciers of the Hoher Dachstein massif in Austria, one of the most emblematic high-mountain areas of the Northern Alps.
Copernicus Sentinel-2 imagery plays a crucial role in monitoring and preserving our planet’s mountain regions, even in remote areas such as the poles.
Google Gemini:
Prompt: Which major European rivers originate in, or rely on Mountain glaciers to feed them?
Answer:
Several major European rivers, including the
Rhine, Rhône, Danube, and Po, originate in or are significantly fed by mountain glaciers in the Swiss Alps. Glaciers act as natural “water towers,” providing crucial meltwater to sustain river flow, especially during hot and dry summer months when other water sources are scarce.
The primary rivers that rely on glacial feed are:
- Rhône: This river’s source is the Rhône Glacier in the Swiss Alps, and its flow is highly dependent on meltwater.
- Rhine: The Rhine originates in the eastern Swiss Alps (specifically the headwaters of the Anterior and Posterior Rhine) and is fed by several glaciers in its upper catchment area.
- Po: Italy’s longest river has its headwaters in the Cottian Alps, and its flow is partially reliant on glacier melt from the southern flank of the Alps.
- Danube: While the main branch of the Danube does not start in a glacierized area, a major tributary, the Inn River, has its source in the Swiss Alps and provides significant glacier-fed water to the upper Danube basin.
The consistent supply of water from these glaciers during the summer helps regulate the rivers’ water levels, which is vital for agriculture, hydropower, and transport on Europe’s major waterways. However, as the Alps warm faster than the global average, these glaciers are rapidly receding, raising concerns about the long-term water security for the millions of people living downstream who depend on these rivers.
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I’m struck by Climate Deniers like this one, who don’t seem to get the important role that glaciers play, not just supplying water through the seasons, but feeding important arteries of commerce.
The Copernicus phots above called to mind this brain-dead bleat from one of the more active climate denial zombies or the younger generation.
Some of the most important rivers of Europe have their origins in the Alps. This doesn’t come as a surprise considering that Europe’s largest fresh water reservoir is located here. Each year, more than 200 billion cubic meters of water drain out of the basin. The Alps act as one of Europe’s most important watersheds and their drainage takes place in three main directions: South to the Mediterranean and the Adriatic Sea, north-west to the North Sea and east via the Danube to the Black Sea.
THE RHINE — FROM GRAUBÜNDEN TO THE NORTH SEA
The most powerful and by far the longest Alpine river is the Rhine with a total length of 1,232 kilometers. It originates in the Swiss canton of Graubünden, where the Anterior Rhine and the Posterior Rhine merge. The Rhine forms the border between Switzerland and Liechtenstein and, further downstream, the border between Switzerland and Austria, before it flows through Lake Constance. At the confluence of the two near Stein am Rhein, the High Rhine begins
Maybe that Chris Martz guy should live in an alpine village just below one of those receding “Just a block of ice” things.
Because the constant sub-freezing temperatures are also what had – as in “used to” – held fractured rock faces together. And as the pressure of the ice mass goes, and as thawing and water percolation begin, people living in those areas get rockfalls, landslides, avalanches – while seeing a drop-off of summer water supply as later-season streamflows shrink or end.
And a lot of big cities around the world are dependent to lesser or greater degree on fairly steady flows from rivers formed up in icy mountain areas. As greenhouse insulation raises temperatures at elevation, the steady flows are turning to heavy runoff in spring and less than normal supply for much of the year.