Söder says Zugspitze permafrost is disappearing

Bavarian Minister-President Markus Söder said thawing permafrost on the Zugspitze would eventually disappear during a visit to the mountain, BR reported. The visit followed a rockfall there in September and came shortly after the state government announced plans to weaken Bavaria’s climate protection law.

Researchers from the Technical University of Munich told Söder that 13 metres of millennia-old permafrost had melted so far this year. Normally, about seven metres would have melted by early October. Professor Michael Krautblatter said the Zugspitze could be entirely free of permafrost within 30 years. As the frozen ground thaws, mountains become less stable and rockfalls more common, he said.

About 14,000 cubic metres of rock fell from the mountain in September. Söder said the risk of further rockfalls was growing and that climate protection and adaptation measures could delay the effects as much as possible.

The government has said Bavaria now aims to become climate-neutral in 2045 rather than 2040, aligning more closely with Germany-wide plans. It also plans to rely more on voluntary climate adaptation measures. Professor Harald Lesch, a member of Bavaria’s climate council, criticised the proposed changes, saying the law would help neither people nor the climate. Söder said the government took a different view. Environment Minister Thorsten Glauber said the aim was to motivate people to take climate action and reassure them that authorities were addressing risks.

Bavaria is providing 600,000 euros for a Technical University of Munich project to survey the Zugspitze’s entire northern face with a high-powered laser. The work is due to start within days and aims to help provide early warnings of rockfalls. Krautblatter said early warning was the only tool researchers had to respond to the effects of climate change in the mountains.