How Climate Change Impacts Mountains

Climate change has a significant impact on landscapes, including mountains. As global temperatures rise, snow, glaciers, and permafrost melt, which further disrupts the regional heat balance. This disruption increases the number of geohazards and risks, such as landslides, rock slope failures, and falling rocks. Also, mountain ecosystems and services change, for example affecting plant growth, water quality, and food web structures. This in turn strongly impacts mountain communities and infrastructure, as they rely on mountains for water, food, agriculture, and tourism. This shows that higher global temperatures have far-reaching consequences in mountain areas.