Viral Photos Of Switzerland’s Glacier 15 Years Apart ‘It Made Me Cry’

Climate change continues to reshape our planet with alarming speed, as evidenced by recent images of Switzerland’s Rhone Glacier. Duncan Porter, a user on X, recently shared two photos that vividly illustrate the glacier’s dramatic retreat over the past 15 years. The first photo, taken in 2009, shows Porter and a companion with the glacier’s […]

Viral Photos Of Switzerland’s Glacier 15 Years Apart
by Ananya Ghosh - August 6, 2024, 8:45 pm

Climate change continues to reshape our planet with alarming speed, as evidenced by recent images of Switzerland’s Rhone Glacier. Duncan Porter, a user on X, recently shared two photos that vividly illustrate the glacier’s dramatic retreat over the past 15 years. The first photo, taken in 2009, shows Porter and a companion with the glacier’s grand expanse in the background. The second photo, taken this year, reveals a significant reduction in the glacier’s size. Porter’s poignant caption read, “Fifteen years minus one day between these photos. Taken at the Rhone glacier in Switzerland today. Not gonna lie, it made me cry.”

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Porter’s post has sparked widespread attention, amassing over 4 million views and generating a flood of comments. Many users expressed their shock and concern over the rapid changes. One user commented, “We used to think that #ClimateChange was a ‘slow-moving’ problem. But an entire glacier just vanished in 15 years. We have no time to waste. #EndClimateSilence #EndFossilFuels.” Another remarked, “This picture reminds me of visiting the natural history museum of Vienna about a decade ago – they had an exhibition about ‘our disappearing glaciers’ back then and I cannot imagine how much worse it might be now.”

Comments On The Post:

Others called for deeper reflection on the issue, with one urging, “Take a look at this photo and really let it rest with you for a moment,” and another asserting, “We are IN CLIMATE CHANGE now. It’s not coming, we are in it. Mainstream News doesn’t cover the devastation being wrecked around the world which is downright criminal.”


Comments also highlighted the urgent need for action. “Glaciers respond to climate, not weather. And the climate is clearly changing,” one user pointed out. Another critique noted, “So what is anyone doing about it? Taking photos and crying? It’s happening before everyone’s faces and yet nobody seems to actually build up the urge to make a difference.”

The conversation around Porter’s post reflects a growing awareness of climate change’s immediate effects. A similar scenario was captured by photographer Neil Drake, who recreated a 1918 photo of an Arctic glacier to emphasize its significant melt over the past century.

As the world grapples with these visible impacts, the need for substantial action to address climate change becomes ever more pressing.

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