World
Italian-Swiss border set to be redrawn because of melting Alps glaciers
Italy and Switzerland are set to redraw part of their shared border.
On Friday, the Swiss Federal Council approved an agreement that would result in the map being modified.
The process of finalising the border adjustment is under way in Italy and, once signed, the change will be ratified.
The shared border traverses Alpine peaks but melting glaciers have shifted the historically defined frontier.
This is because, in a number of places, the Alpine border is defined by the watershed, or ridge-lines of glaciers – but, as they shrink these can move, shifting the border with them.
The new changes are set to be implemented beneath the Matterhorn, one of Europe’s tallest mountains, around the area of the Zermatt and Cervinia ski resorts in southern Switzerland and northwestern Italy, at Tete Grise/Plateau Rosa, Cabane Carrel and Dos de Rollin.
Border along the crest of glaciers
Until Italy approves the agreement as well, the Switzerland federal authorities said the specifics of border changes would not be made public.
But in the past, similar changes have led to the border being moved by between 100 and 150m.
“In the high mountains, significant sections of the Italian-Swiss border are determined by the watershed, represented by the crest line of glaciers, snowfields and perpetual snow,” the Swiss government said. “However, with the melting of the glaciers, these natural elements evolve and redefine the national border when it is defined dynamically.”
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Of the 359-mile long (578km) Italian-Swiss border, 25 miles (40km) are covered by glaciers.
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This is not the first time the Italian-Swiss border has been amended.
In 2000, in Furggsattel, Zermatt, the border was also rewritten, after a glacier moved somewhere between 100-150m.
A graphic showing how the border can move depending on the height of glaciers
The change meant that a chairlift station, which had once been in Italy, was now in Switzerland.
The EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service has reported in recent years how rapidly glacier ice in Europe is melting amid record hot summers on the continent and climate change.