– English Lyrics

Lyrics & Translation

[English]

The rapid decline of Switzerland's

glacias was laid bare this week after a

new report showed that they lost 3% of

their ice in the last year alone. It

suggests many of the country's smaller

glacias won't survive our current level

of warming. But scientists hope that

rapid action could help to reser

preserve what's left. Our climate

reporter Mark Pointing has more.

>> The iconic mountain landscape to

Switzerland are changing before our

eyes. This is Greece Glacia in 1919.

Here it is today. Where once there was

thick ice, there is now a lake. Dramatic

changes at Pers glacia and Mortarach

Glacia too. And at the largest alpine

glacia of them all, the Great Alice.

What was once frozen is now trees.

>> Certainly a sense of of sadness because

um I love the mountains. I love the

glaciers. So as a as a person I I I feel

sad when I see this dis this appearance

this change but on the other hand it's

also a really fascinating time as a as a

scientist.

>> Switzerland's glacias were roughly

stable between 1950 and the early 1980s.

Since then they've lost almost half of

their ice. UN scientists say the main

reason for the rapid reductions in

glacier ice worldwide over the past few

decades is clear. It's human caused

climate change.

Imagine this staircase is our valley.

Here's our glacia. Higher up, it's

colder. That's where ice is made from

snowfall. Lower down, it's warmer.

That's where most of the melting

happens. In a stable climate, the ice

gained roughly balances the ice lost.

But in our warming climate, the melting

outpaces the snowfall. That's why we see

glacias shrinking around the world. In

historical records, of course, there

have really been massive changes. The

glaced

essentially the Alps and went way into

Germany. So the the glacia have been

much much larger. But what what we see

now is really massive changes within a

few years and we know we can attribute

much of it to anthropogenic climate

warming. So that's also it's really

human human nature.

The disappearance of glacias adds to

global sea levels and threatens the

water supplies of millions of people

around the world.

And while many smaller glacias won't

survive our current level of warming,

scientists are crystal clear that sharp

cuts to carbon emissions can still save

much of the world's ice and preserve at

least some of these pristine mountain

views. Mark Pointing, BBC News.

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
glacier /ˈɡleɪʃər/ B1	noun - a large persistent body of ice
decline /dɪˈklaɪn/ B1	verb - to become smaller or fewer in number
rapid /ˈræpɪd/ A2	adjective - happening quickly
preserve /prɪˈzɜːrv/ B1	verb - to keep something in its original state
iconic /aɪˈkɒnɪk/ B2	adjective - widely recognized and well-established
dramatic /drəˈmætɪk/ B1	adjective - sudden and striking
stable /ˈsteɪbl/ A2	adjective - not changing or moving
scientist /ˈsaɪəntɪst/ A2	noun - a person who studies science
climate /ˈklaɪmət/ A2	noun - the weather conditions in an area
melting /ˈmɛltɪŋ/ A2	verb - to change from a solid to a liquid state
snowfall /ˈsnəʊfɔːl/ B1	noun - the amount of snow that falls
anthropogenic /ˌænθrəpəʊˈdʒɛnɪk/ C1	adjective - caused by humans
disappearance /ˌdɪsəˈpɪərəns/ B2	noun - the act of no longer being visible
emission /ɪˈmɪʃən/ B2	noun - the act of sending out gas or radiation
pristine /ˈprɪstiːn/ C1	adjective - clean and untouched