Effects of a Changing Climate

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Our recent trip into the Alps with #ExpeditionAlpine was a bit of a shock for everyone on the Anturus team. As scientists we have all seen the data that suggests the climate is changing and that there seems to be a correlation between humans burning fossil fuels and the warming planet. When getting the climate change message out there I rarely use stats to make influence. I also rarely use higher temperatures to get my point across because most people would love to see a warmer planet. Normally, when discussing climate change, the thing that scares people is the fact that we will run out of fossil fuels and it will be sooner rather than later.

Anturus Team on Mer de Glace

But having spent time on the glaciers in the French and Italian Alps and seeing the images of what they used to look like, it was the state of these glaciers that really shocked and scared the Anturus team. Some how, a lot of the glaciers looked ‘unhealthy,. It’s strange to think a glacier could be ill but for some reason, you could see they were struggling. They are such a visual representation of climate change and with the vast majority of glaciers in the world, whether polar or mountainous, retreating and thinning, it’s plain to see that climate change is doing its part. Our film maker Ryan Atkinson had seen some of these glaciers further back than any of the rest of us, and he recalls his experience: