As climate clock ticks, aviator races to photograph glaciers

Chunks of ice floated in milky blue waters. The closer to the surface, the more the water roared – and the louder the “crack” of ice, as pieces fell from the arm of Europe’s largest glacier. Against this outsized backdrop, the plane carrying the man who chases glaciers seemed almost like a toy. According to data from the European Environmental Agency, the Alps, for example, have lost about half their volume since 1900, with the most evident acceleration of melting happening since the 1980s. Estimates from the EEA have said that by 2100, the volume of European glaciers will continue to decline by between 22 percent and 84 percent – and that is under a moderate scenario.