Global Warming

Sweden loses its tallest peak to global warming

Sweden has a new highest point. The Scandinavian country's highest peak lost its title this week because record heat has been melting away the tip of a glacier that sits atop the Kebnekaise mountain, experts say.

A month ago, the mountain's southern peak held the title, soaring to 2,101 metres above sea level.

On Tuesday, after weeks of high temperatures, it was 2,097 metres high - only 20 centimetres, or about six inches, taller than the north peak, said Professor Gunhild Rosqvist, head of the Tarfala Research Station near the mountain.

By Wednesday, enough had melted to take it below the critical height, Rosqvist said, handing the northern peak the crown. "We can estimate the melt rate based on temperature measurements. We know that it has melted because it is very hot," she said. "We are going to measure again later this summer when the melting stops. In a month, we'll know how bad it is."

The shrinking peak is symbolic of climate change that also brought marked shifts for animals and vegetation, she said, and badly affected the region's reindeer herders. July was the hottest on record in many parts of Sweden, with drought and some of the worst forest fires the country has seen.

Even if the northern peak is higher when the mountain is measured at summer's end, the southern tip is likely to grow again in winter. The peaks could then take turns as Sweden's highest point over the next few years.