Euro-Climhist – Ways to Weather Hindcasting

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    Gletsch in the years of 1855/56 ... and in 2009.

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    Gletsch in the years of 1855/56 ... and in 2009.

This early photograph of the Rhone Glacier close to Gletsch from about 1855/56 visualizes the far reaching climatic change over the last 150 years, which cannot been perceived otherwise. Around 1860 the Rhone Glacier filled up the upper valley completely with its huge ice mass. Today the glacier-tongue melted so far back that it cannot be seen from the valley any more. Climate means the (statistical) summary of weather events at a specific place over a long time-span that is over thirty years and more, whereas human life follows the rhythm of the weather within some days or weeks.

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    Gletsch on the Dufour Map 1854/1864 and on the National Map 2007. geodata © swisstopo

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    Gletsch on the Dufour Map 1854/1864 and on the National Map 2007. geodata © swisstopo

With Euro-Climhist, evidence on weather and climate is made accessible through a user-friendly database query, including daily weather observations as well as extreme events and long-term climatic development.