Switzerland and Italy are partly redrawing the border over the melting glaciers

Switzerland and Italy have redrawn part of their border in the Alps due to melting glaciers, caused by climate change.

Part of the affected area will be at the foot of the Matterhorn, one of Europe’s tallest mountains, and close to a number of popular ski resorts.

Large parts of the Swiss-Italian border are marked by ice lines or areas of permanent snow, but melting glaciers have caused these natural boundaries to shift, leading both countries to seek to adjust the border.

Switzerland officially ratified the deal on the transition on Friday, but Italy is yet to follow suit. This follows an agreement drafted by the Swiss-Italian joint commission back in May 2023.

Statistics published last September showed that Switzerland’s glaciers lost 4% of their volume in 2023, the second largest loss ever after 2022’s record 6% melt.

The annual report is released every year by the Swiss Glacier Monitoring Network (Glamos), citing record losses in consecutive warm summers, as well as the lowest snowfall in the winter of 2022. Researchers say that if this climate continues, the melting will accelerate.

On Friday, Switzerland said the redefined borders were built in line with the economic interests of both sides.

It is thought that clarifying the boundaries will help both countries to decide which one is responsible for the preservation of certain natural areas.

The Swiss-Italian borders will be changed in the Plateau Rosa region, the refuge of Carrel and the Gobba di Rollin – all close to the Matterhorn and popular ski areas including Zermatt.

Specific border changes will be implemented and the agreement published once both countries have signed it.

Switzerland says the ratification process for signing the agreement is ongoing in Italy.

Last year, Glamos warned that some Swiss glaciers are shrinking so fast that they are unlikely to be saved, even if global temperatures are kept within the Paris climate agreement’s 1.5C target increase.

Experts say that without the reduction in greenhouse gases linked to the global warning, large glaciers like the Aletsch – which is off the border – could disappear within a generation.

Many objects have been discovered in the Swiss glaciers in recent years due to their rapid melting and shrinkage.

Last July, human remains were found near the Matterhorn it was confirmed that it belonged to a German climber who had been missing since 1986.

Hikers crossing the Theodul glacier above Zermatt have seen hiking boots and crampons emerge from the snow.

In 2022, the wreckage of the plane that crashed in 1968 appeared in the Aletsch glacier.

And the body of missing British mountaineer Jonathan Conville was found in 2014 by a helicopter pilot who saw something unusual while delivering supplies to the Matterhorn.