Top alpine skiers have raised alarm over the fast loss of glaciers during the Winter Games in Cortina.
Lindsey Vonn said many glaciers she trained on as a child have almost disappeared.
Mikaela Shiffrin called the changes a direct threat to the future of the sport.
Italy’s Federica Brignone said the retreating ice worries her more for the planet than for skiing.
Scientists report that Italy has lost more than 200 square kilometres of glacier area since the late 1950s.
The decline has accelerated sharply in the past two decades.
Glaciers around Cortina have shrunk to small ice patches high in the Dolomites.
The nearby Marmolada, the region’s largest glacier, has halved in 25 years.
Athletes say warming conditions already disrupt training.
Crevasses, exposed rock and flowing meltwater now make some glacier slopes unusable.
Early-season camps increasingly lack reliable snow.
Researchers warn the consequences extend far beyond sport.
Melting glaciers threaten water supplies, raise mountain hazards and contribute to sea-level rise.
Limiting warming to 1.5°C could preserve about 100 Alpine glaciers and prolong Marmolada’s life.
More than 6.5 trillion tonnes of ice have been lost globally since 2000.
Skiers say their close contact with the mountains gives them a clear view of the crisis.
They urge faster emissions cuts and stronger environmental action to avoid what one athlete called a “dangerous trend.”
