High temperatures cause glacier to calve in Chile

Record ID: 1688782

  • Title: High temperatures cause glacier to calve in Chile
  • Date: 13th September 2022
  • Summary: SANTIAGO, CHILE (SEPTEMBER 13, 2022) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) CLIMATE CHANGE EXPERT, ACADEMIC AT UNIVERSIDAD SANTIAGO DE CHILE, RAUL CORDERO, SAYING: “One of the consequences of global warming is that it is destabilizing many glaciers and particularly some unstable glacier walls. When for example, we register episodes with high temperatures or with liquid precipitation, these glacier walls can collapse. Unfortunately, that is what happened over the last few days in Patagonia. It is similar to what occurred a couple of months ago both in the Himalayas and the Alps.”
  • Embargoed: 27th September 2022 18:19
  • Keywords: Chile calving glacier global warming
  • Location: QUEULAT NATIONAL PARK, AYSEN & SANTIAGO, CHILE
  • City: QUEULAT NATIONAL PARK, AYSEN & SANTIAGO, CHILE
  • Country: Chile
  • Topics: Environment,South America / Central America
  • Reuters ID: LVA002506913092022RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: High temperatures and rains have caused a glacier located in Chile’s Queulat National Park to calve, an expert in climate change Raul Cordero said.
    A video shot on a mobile phone on September 9 captured the moment in which the glacier, which stands 200 metres high (656 feet), calving into a river.
    This event is a direct consequence of global warming, said Cordero, an academic at Universidad de Santiago de Chile. Cordero added that this year, the Patagonia region experienced abnormal high temperatures that exceeded zero degrees Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit) and even 15 degrees Celsius (59 Fahrenheit).
    This, along with heavy rain caused by the arrival of tropical warm air to areas such as Patagonia or the Andes region – known as atmospheric rivers – are driving factors behind the calving.
    Queulat National Park is located in the southern Chilean region of Aysen. Some of its main attractions include forest areas and its glaciers.
    Cordero said that the heat waves and precipitation are becoming more frequent not just in Chile, but in the world, increasing the amount of calvings around the globe.
    (Production: Jorge Vega, Nina Lopez)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2022. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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