Among glaciers threatened by record summer temperatures, the ecosystems of Pyrenean species such as falcons are being disrupted by the effects of global warming, according to experts quoted by AFP.

“In recent decades, all species have been estimated to have moved an average of 11 meters in height per decade due to climate change,” said Juan Terradez, a researcher at the Observatory of Pyrenees Climate Change (OPCC) in Jaca, Spain.

Thus, these species compete for limited space in this mountain massif that separates the Iberian Peninsula from southwestern France: “The mountains are cone-shaped, and the higher you go, the less effective space there is for feeding, moving and breeding. “, says Juan Terradez.

For example, Pyrenean deer, which are smaller than their Alpine relatives, suffer.

“If there is a heat wave at the end of autumn, which has been quite common in the Pyrenees in recent years, which affects the plants they like, it leads to poor grazing quality and affects the survival of the chicks in the spring,” he said. explains the Spanish researcher.

The ecosystem of the pike, a small mammal endemic to the Pyrenees mountain range that lives in very cold river waters, is also being disrupted. At the end of 2021, the International Union for Conservation of Nature classified it as an “endangered” species.

Catastrophic consequences

Forests, which cover 6% of the surface of these mountains, have also been directly affected, “heat and drought contribute to the decline of forest areas”, points out Juan Terradez.

This global warming is damaging valuable forests that help slow avalanches and fix CO2, releasing oxygen.

And this trend may accelerate due to the effects of global warming on peatlands, where carbon stocks have been concentrated for centuries.

“The peatlands are ecosystems that were covered by water for most of the year, so all the organic matter was fixed there and they acted as carbon sinks,” explains Juan Terradez.

“With global warming, year-round water coverage is no longer guaranteed, so much of these peatlands are exposed to high temperatures, which means all the CO2 goes into the atmosphere,” he notes.

Overheating

The Pyrenees are overheating, according to Météo-France, June-July 2022 was the hottest period ever recorded since measurements began in 1881 at the peak of the Pic du Midi (2,875 m). The average temperature this summer is 9.8°C, which is 7.5°C above normal.

Glaciers are the first to suffer from such high-altitude heat, Jean-Michel Soubeiro, a climatologist at Météo-France, told AFP.

“The latest study put the age of the Mont Perdu glacier (not far from the French-Spanish border, no) at more than 2,000 years, but it will disappear in the next 20-30 years,” the researcher continued.

“We used to say that in the Pyrenees it snows every month of the year, but today we are very far from that,” emphasizes Jean-Michel Soubeiro.