Researchers at the University of Geneva (UNIGE) and the United Nations recently unveiled the results of an analysis of 22 years of satellite imagery showing the evolution of snow cover in Switzerland.
Average snow cover from 1995 to 2005
Swiss snow is disappearing fast, something probably linked to global warming reckon the researchers.
Average snow cover from 2005 to 2017
Over the period from 1995 to 2005, the area receiving little or no snow – 0 to 20% chance of snow – made up only 36% of the country. Between 2005 and 2017, the same area covered 44% of Switzerland, a 22% increase. Red shows areas receiving little or no snow in the images above.
Calculations were made using a new tool called the Swiss Data Cube, the fruit of a project started by Switzerland’s Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN).
The project involved going through 6,500 images from three American satellites launched in the 1970s.
More on this:
UNIGE press release (in English)
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