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  • 2 weeks ago
Heatwave in France: 2026 sets record for rockfalls in the Alps

The summer of 2026 saw an unprecedented wave of landslides in the French Alps, especially around Mont Blanc, driven by extreme heat and thawing permafrost.

READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2026/08/20/heatwave-in-france-2026-sets-rockfall-record-in-the-alps

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00:00The French Alps recorded around 450 rockfalls in the Mont Blanc massive alone since the beginning of the year, setting
00:08an alarming record for the region in what has long been considered the safest time of the year for mountaineering.
00:15This is unprecedented according to researchers and scientists.
00:32The previous record was set in 2022 with 300 rockfalls recorded that year.
00:40We have about 200 years of climate warming covered by these photographs.
00:46We compare them to the other, we can identify the cicatrices, which is the zone of stabilization of the rockfalls.
00:54We can quantify them in terms of volume, and we have shown that 80% or 85% of these
01:01cicatrices were placed in place in the last two or three decades.
01:04So we have a very clear relation between the warming of the climate and the destabilization of the rockfalls.
01:11Analysts say frequent and prolonged heat waves are also weakening the mountains at a deeper level.
01:17The rockfalls, the avalanches rocheuses, are produced today due to the degradation of the permafrost, but also due to the
01:24release of the glaciers,
01:24because the glaciers tend to exert pressure on the versants, which are rather stabilisatrices.
01:29And when the glaciers lose in thickness, the rocks are descomprimed.
01:33In July, two Czech tourists lost their lives in a rock slide on Mont Blanc, and in August, a man
01:39also died under similar circumstances.
01:42Experts and local authorities are asking hikers to remain vigilant, as there may still be numerous rockfalls in the coming
01:50months.
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