Not just Nepal: How climate change puts European Alps under threat

Climate change is increasingly becoming a threat to the snow-clad European Alps, amid initial investigations associating the August 26 Nepal tragedy with rising temperatures.Average temperatures in July, on the Aiguille du Midi peak, in the Mont Blanc range, have more than doubled, from 1.6 C in 1994 to 3.3 C, according to Meteo France, the national weather service.In Lombardy, Italy, Alpine glaciers have reportedly lost more than 40 per cent of their surface area since 1991, according to the region's glacier service.Europe's record heat waves this summer have also affected the permafrost that has held parts of the Alpine landscape together for thousands of years. As the frozen ground thaws, cliffs have become more unstable, triggering rock falls from high elevations.“From mid-July onward, we saw an increase in rock falls.