Mont Blanc’s melting face: climate warming reshapes the Alps and fuels rockfalls

Warming temperatures are driving rapid glacier retreat and permafrost thaw in the Mont Blanc massif, boosting rockfalls and destabilizing steep cliffs. Alpine glaciers in Lombardy have shed more than 40% of their area since 1991, and experts warn this year could see around 400 rock collapses—roughly ten times higher than two decades ago—underscoring how climate change is reshaping the Alps and raising danger for climbers and local terrain.