A British couple's poignant holiday photos have gone viral on X, illustrating the alarming speed of glacier retreat in Switzerland.
Duncan and Helen Porter, a software developer and nurse from Bristol, revisited the Rhône glacier nearly 15 years after their initial visit, capturing the drastic change in the landscape.
On their first visit in August 2009, the Porters took a photo from a popular viewpoint. Returning almost exactly 15 years later, on June 13, 2023, with their teenage daughters, they recreated the photo, only to find a dramatically altered scene. The glacier had significantly retreated, revealing a lake of meltwater and craggy grey rock where a huge sheet of white ice once stood.
Fifteen years minus one day between these photos. Taken at the Rhone glacier in Switzerland today.
— Duncan Porter (@misterduncan) August 4, 2024
Not gonna lie, it made me cry. pic.twitter.com/Inz6uO1kum
"Not gonna lie, it made me cry," Duncan Porter shared on X, along with the two photos. His post quickly went viral, amassing over four million views and drawing widespread attention to the stark effects of climate change on the Swiss landscape.
This visual evidence frames one aspect of the climate crisis in a relatable way, emphasising the urgency of addressing global warming. Europe, the world’s fastest-warming continent, has temperatures now running at 2.3C above pre-industrial levels, compared to 1.3C higher globally.
Switzerland has lost about 10% of its glacier ice in just two years, according to research from the Swiss Academy of Sciences (SCNAT) and Glacier Monitoring Switzerland (GLAMOS) published last year. Since 2000, one-third of its glacier volume has melted. Glaciers in Austria and Italy, including those in the Dolomites, are also at risk.
A previous climate study concluded that half of the world’s glaciers are doomed to disappear by the end of the century, even if global heating is limited to 1.5C.
“A lot of people, when they see something like that, they feel quite helpless,” Porter told the UK's Guardian newspaper. "But from my experience, there’s a huge amount they can do."
Porter, a cycling enthusiast and member of a local climate action group in the south-west of England, remains optimistic despite the dire circumstances. Despite some negative feedback from climate-denying accounts on X, Porter chose to focus on the “really kind comments” in response to his emotive post, reflecting a collective hope for meaningful climate action.
IOL