The rock glaciers of the Swiss National Park were the first in the world where in-situ measurements of surface displacement were undertaken, starting with the pioneering work of Chaix in 1918. Our research is focused on the four rock glaciers described by Chaix, bridging the historical data gap that existed between their early 20th-century measurements and the most recent observations. Through the application of photogrammetric techniques, we geomorphologically analyze the spatiotemporal evolution of rock glaciers in the region, and disentangle the interplay with their adjacent glaciers. We show that these rock glaciers are in different phases of degradation with a general trend of deceleration and loss of volume. Our findings reveal historical kinematic changes influenced by the hydrological contributions of adjacent glaciers, which were closely connected since the Little Ice Age but are now severely degraded. The observed hydrological control, suggests that ongoing climate-induced glacier degradation will likely result in a future scenario with limited new accelerations. Instead, a steady water flow from adjacent glaciers may sustain a gradual secondary creep, progressively slowing as permafrost degradation continues, driven by predicted warming and dry climatic conditions in the Alps.

Rockfall in high-mountain regions is thought to be changing due to accelerating climate warming and permafrost degradation, possibly resulting in enhanced activity and larger volumes involved in individual falls. Yet the systematic lack of long-term observations of rockfall largely hampers an in-depth assessment of how activity may have been altered by a warming climate. Here we compile a continuous time series from 1920 to 2020 of periglacial rockfall activity using growth-ring records from 375 trees damaged by past rockfall at Täschgufer (Swiss Alps). We show that the ongoing warming favours the release of rockfall and that changes in activity correlate significantly with summer air temperatures at interannual and decadal timescales. An initial increase in rockfall occurred in the late 1940s to early 1950s following early twentieth century warming. From the mid-1980s, activity reached new and hitherto unprecedented levels. This long-term record of rockfall activity can help to inform the design of vital mitigation and risk reduction measures in inhabited mountain environments. Stoffel M, Trappmann DG, Coullie MI, Balleseros JA, Corona C. 2024. Rockfall from an increasingly unstable mountain slope driven by climate warming. Nature. Geosciences. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-024-01390-9.

This analysis looks at how Spain, particularly affected by climate change, experienced an extremely hot summer in 2022. This unusual heat was caused by a combination of weather patterns that brought very warm air from Africa. As a result, Spain saw some of the hottest temperatures ever recorded, with more frequent and longer heatwaves compared to the past. Despite normal amounts of rain, the intense heat caused severe drought in many areas. Also, when looking at historical climate data, it's clear that the average temperature during the summer of 2022 was the highest in the last 700 years, and it was the driest period in the last 279 years in northeastern Spain. These findings emphasize the importance of taking steps to protect people from extreme heat and to prepare better for the impacts of climate change in the future. Serrano-Notivoli, R., Tejedor, E., Sarricolea, P., Meseguer-Ruiz, O., de Luis, M., Saz, M. Á., … Olcina, J. (2023, September 15). Unprecedented warmth: A look at Spain’s exceptional summer of 2022. Atmospheric Research. Elsevier Ltd. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosres.2023.106931