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In the Alps, a lake formed following the melting of the Bossons glacier in Chamonix (Haute-Savoie), which loses about 6 meters per year. So much so that the municipality had to take measures to drain part of the lake.
It is a site that takes place at the foot of a glacier, in the middle of a melting period. A helicopter deposits an excavator whose mission is to allow a partial emptying of a lake. Located at the foot of the Bossons glacier, in Chamonix (Haute-Savoie), this lake appeared barely 4 years ago. This is a consequence of global warming and accelerated melting. Block after block, the machine digs, removes rocks, widens the torrent which serves as an outlet. The objective is to succeed in lowering the level of the lake by about two meters.
In this period of heat wave, water flows from everywhere. The volume of water must be reduced to limit the risk of rupture. The ice is losing five meters in thickness each year, so there is an eventual danger of a severe purge and flooding for the valley below. The landscape, in any case, changes almost every day, with the evolution of the climate. In 30 years, the Bossons glacier, like many other alpine glaciers, has retreated more than 1 km. According to scientists, the trend is towards an acceleration of the phenomenon.