Cortina d’ampezzo: Olympic skiers competing in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, have warned that accelerating glacier loss threatens both winter sports and the broader environment, as shrinking ice across the Alps becomes increasingly visible during the Games, according to a report.

According to Anadolu Agency, Team USA’s Lindsey Vonn noted that the changes are undeniable: ‘Most of the glaciers that I used to ski on are pretty much gone… So that’s very real and it’s very apparent to us.’ Italian glaciologist Antonella Senese of the University of Milan highlighted that the country has lost more than 200 square kilometers of glacier area since the late 1950s, with declines accelerating in recent decades.

Nearby, the Marmolada glacier, already halved over 25 years, could largely disappear within decades depending on warming levels, researchers involved in the University of Innsbruck’s Goodbye Glaciers Project warned. Italian Olympic champion Federica Brignone stated that retreating glaciers signal a wider planetary
crisis: ‘They are going up and up, every year, more and more.’

Other competitors echoed concern, with US skier River Radamus cautioning: ‘It’s always present in our mind that we’re on a dangerous trend unless we do something right.’ Scientists say glacier loss threatens water resources, increases mountain hazards, and may reduce future Winter Olympic host locations as global warming accelerates.