Most of the glaciers in Norway are now smaller than they’ve been for several hundred years, according to new measurements taken by the Norwegian directorate for water and energy (Norges vassdrags og energidirektorat, NVE).
Fully 19 of the 28 glaciers in Norway have shrunk again in the past year, while five were unchanged and four increased in size. The report comes during the same week that measurement stations on Svalbard reported an increase of carbon emissions in the air that raises fears of increased global warming.
The glacier receding the most was Bødalsbreen in Stryn, which melted by 110 meters. Next was Storsteinsfjellbreen in Narvik, which shrunk by 69 meters, and the Brenndalsbreen also in Stryn, which was 65 meters smaller than last year.
Norwegian glaciers receded on average by 149 meters over the past 10 years, but variations among them are large, according to NVE. The steep arms on the west side of the famed Jostedal Glacier receded by 400 to 600 meters, while other glaciers in the high mountains of Jotunheimen have only receded by about 50-100 meters.
newsinenglish.no staff
