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Continuation of the 13 Hours soap opera exploring Iceland. The France Télévisions teams went to Vatnajökull, the largest glacier in Iceland.
Vatnajökull is one of the largest glaciers in Europe. Surrounded by a guide, a group of tourists are preparing to climb this giant of ice. The crampons are the best allies of climbers in the ascent. On the giant ice rink, the beginnings are smiling, but hesitant. At the end of the harness, a lifeline secures the adventurers. This frozen desert, seemingly immutable, is being eaten away by global warming. “The glacier has retreated nine kilometers in 90 years”, explains the guide.
The melting is accelerating, but creating wonders in the bowels of the glacier: the runoff of water has created multiple ice caves. Several tens of meters high by a few centimeters wide. “It feels like a dream in blue”, explains a tourist. Where does this mesmerizing blue come from? Impossible not to ask the question. A blue sometimes mixed with ash, because the glacier covers several volcanoes. Pleasing the eyes for some, witness to an irremediable change for others: the largest glacier in Iceland leaves no one indifferent. At this rate, it could have lost 80% of its surface by 2300.
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