A British couple have documented the effects of global warming on Swiss glaciers by duplicating a photo taken 15 years apart. Software developer Duncan Porter posted the images on X (formerly Twitter) and the post quickly went viral, racking up more than 80,000 likes and 10,000 shares.
The first photo was taken on August 5, 2009, when Porter and his wife Helen visited the Rhone Glacier in the Swiss Alps. This year, the couple returned to the same spot and re-shot the photo last Sunday, August 4. However, the amount of ice in the area is now much less.
“Fifteen years minus one day between these photos. Taken today on the Rhone Glacier, Switzerland. Not going to lie, this made me cry,” Porter wrote in the post.
to WatchmanThe Briton said he first displayed the photo in a picture frame in the family home. This year, the couple decided to return to the spot to show the beautiful landscape to their two teenage daughters, Miss and Emily.
“But obviously the circumstances of this picture were completely different,” Duncan said. “I thought it was really incredible,” Helen Porter added.
Read more:
According to official statistics, Switzerland has lost a third of its glaciers since 2000. In the last two years alone, 10% of the European country’s landscape has disappeared.
On social media, the Briton’s post had repercussions, with some comparing the changes in the landscape to the couple’s appearance, and others lamenting the effects of climate change on glaciers.
“You two are much better than the glacier,” one netizen joked. “The same thing happens to me when I go to Graubünden (a region in eastern Switzerland) and see the state of the glaciers around the pass; they’ve shrunk dramatically in the 25 years I’ve been there,” said another.
“The snow… oh my god… we will never go back…” one user lamented. “It broke my heart!” Another profile said. “The consequences of our actions are all around us, yet we choose to look the other way.”
“Music fanatic. Professional problem solver. Reader. Award-winning tv ninja.”
More Stories
Remember? Unpublished photo reveals Titan submarine at sea floor
World’s largest amber lump discovered! Almost 4kg of stone as heavy as a door!
Kamala Harris vs. Donald Trump: New Poll Shows Debate’s Impact on Presidential Race