Rising temperatures and rains that weaken ice walls have caused part of a glacier to break off in a national park in Chilean Patagonia, which was caught on video by tourists.

In the video, which immediately went viral, a glacier on top of a mountain some 200 meters high broke off in Quelat National Park, more than 1,200 kilometers south of Chile’s capital Santiago.

Breaks between ice sheets are normal, says climatologist Raul Cordero of the University of Santiago, but he noted that the frequency of these phenomena is alarming. “This type of event is triggered by heatwaves or heavy rainfall, both of which are happening more and more frequently around the world, not just in Chile,” Mr Cordero said.

Before the collapse, there was a heat wave in the area of ​​Patagonia with “very unusual” temperatures before the collapse, he said.

Mr Cordero added that an “atmospheric river” of relatively warm moist air was also recorded. When this river meets the topography of the Andes and Patagonia, it forms large clouds and releases precipitation.

“One of the consequences of global warming is that it will destabilize a number of glaciers and, in particular, some unstable ice walls,” Mr Cordero told Reuters. “This is a case of what happened in recent days in Patagonia, similar to what happened a few months ago in both the Himalayas and the Alps.”

Source: Reuters.