Iceland’s most famous snow patch has disappeared

The snow patch in Gunnlaugsskarð, a mountain pass on Mount Esja, has disappeared, mbl.is reports. It would normally mean that Esja’s southern slope is officially free of snow.

However, snow watchers have noted an unusual pattern this year. A snow patch on Kerhólakambur, west of Gunnlaugsskarð, has not yet melted, meaning the Gunnlaugsskarð patch was not the last one to disappear on Esja.

Sigurpáll Ingibergsson, a glacier and snow-patch enthusiast, has monitored the Gunnlaugsskarð patch. He said almost nothing remained on Monday and that it had disappeared completely by Tuesday.

“The snow patch in Gunnlaugsskarð has always been the last one to disappear on Esja, if it disappears at all. But then there is always a period in October when the snow patch returns,” Sigurpáll said.

The patch has been monitored for more than 100 years. Sigurpáll has compiled the years in which it disappeared, finding that it has more often survived the summer without melting completely.

According to Sigurpáll, that pattern has changed in recent years, partly because of climate change.