Italy endured a prolonged heat wave before an Alpine glacier broke off and killed seven hikers and left others unaccounted for. Hotter temperatures are linked to climate change and can destabilize glaciers, although it is difficult to name climate change as the cause of specific events. Experts said higher temperatures make ice avalanches more likely and that melted ice and snow may have triggered the event. Drought conditions may also have helped loosen the ice’s hold on the mountain slope. The avalanche occurred in the Dolomites in northeast Italy.
Warming world creates hazard for Alpine glaciers
