A portion of the border between Italy and Switzerland will be redrawn due to melting glaciers marking the boundary between the two countries.
Matterhorn Peak in the Alps. (Photo: Getty Images).
The two neighboring countries have agreed to change the border beneath the Matterhorn, one of the highest peaks in the Alps. While national borders are often considered fixed, the majority of the Switzerland-Italy border is defined by glaciers and snowfields. The Swiss government emphasized on September 27: “With the melting of glaciers, these natural factors will change and redefine the national border“.
CNN reported that Switzerland and Italy had already reached an agreement on border changes in 2023, and the Swiss government officially approved the adjustments on September 27. The approval process is currently underway in Italy.
According to the Swiss government, once both parties sign the agreement, it will be published, and detailed information about the new border will be made public.
Europe is the fastest-warming continent in the world, and its impact on glaciers is significant. In Switzerland alone, glaciers are melting at an alarming rate. The glaciers in this country lost 4% of their volume in 2023, following a record loss of 6% in 2022. Mr. Matthias Huss, a glaciologist at ETH Zurich (Switzerland), noted that this downward trend shows no signs of ending.
Half of the world’s glaciers could disappear by 2100. This is causing a range of impacts, leading to risks of landslides and dangerous ice collapses. In 2022, 11 people lost their lives when a glacier collapsed in the Italian Alps.
Fluctuations in glaciers also affect freshwater supply, exacerbating water shortages during heatwaves.
Mr. Huss assessed that the shift in national borders is “a minor side effect” of melting glaciers. However, it reflects the direct impact on the world map, making the significant changes of a warming world more evident.
