Italian glaciers 'shrank by 30%'

(ANSA) - Milan, May 8 - The number of Italian glaciers has increased, but their overall surface has dropped by 30% since the last glacier census in 1962, new data presented at the 19th Alpine Glaciology Meeting showed Friday.
    Italy's glaciers have shrunk by 157 square kilometers, fragmenting into 903 different glaciers spread out over six regions and adding up to 369 square kilometers.
    The biggest drop in glacier surface occurred in the northern Friuli and Piedmont regions, where they shrank by half, while those in Trentino Alto Adige were reduced by a third, according to the data. Glacial ice is the largest reservoir of freshwater on Earth, and glacial mass changes are considered among the most sensitive indicators of climate change.