Articles | Volume 18, issue 11
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-5495-2024
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-5495-2024
Research article
 | 
27 Nov 2024
Research article |  | 27 Nov 2024

Impact of climate change on snow avalanche activity in the Swiss Alps

Stephanie Mayer, Martin Hendrick, Adrien Michel, Bettina Richter, Jürg Schweizer, Heini Wernli, and Alec van Herwijnen

Data sets

21st century projections of dry- and wet-snow avalanche activity Stephanie Mayer et al. https://doi.org/10.16904/envidat.549

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Short summary
Understanding the impact of climate change on snow avalanche activity is crucial for safeguarding lives and infrastructure. Here, we project changes in avalanche activity in the Swiss Alps throughout the 21st century. Our findings reveal elevation-dependent patterns of change, indicating a decrease in dry-snow avalanches alongside an increase in wet-snow avalanches at elevations above the current treeline. These results underscore the necessity to revisit measures for avalanche risk mitigation.