Austria’s glacier area shrinks 31% in two decades, study finds

A peer-reviewed Fifth Austrian Glacier Inventory found that Austria’s glacier area fell by 31% between the previous 2004–2012 inventory and the new 2021–2023 mapping. Researchers manually traced glacier outlines from high-resolution imagery and elevation models. Of 894 glaciers in the previous inventory, 95 had disappeared completely or could no longer be mapped. The new inventory totals 285 ± 12 square kilometres, and 87% of the glaciers are smaller than 0.5 square kilometres. The authors say accelerating losses make more frequent inventories important for tracking hydrology, runoff and mountain hazards.