Melting glaciers reveal 250 World War I munitions in Italy

Rapidly melting glaciers in Italy’s Trentino-Alto Adige region have exposed nearly 250 unexploded munitions dating from World War I.

Operative Information Center-OMM reports that TRT Haber reported the discovery.

Artillery and mortar shells, along with other explosives, were found by naturalists, climbers and people hiking in mountainous areas. According to the Italian Army’s Julia Alpine Brigade, the first munition of the summer was found by chance in June near Caldonazzo. Firefighters recovering a car that had rolled into a ravine after its driver forgot to apply the handbrake discovered a 90 mm mortar shell at the foot of a tree.

The munitions, left over from the “White War” fought between Italian and Austro-Hungarian forces from 1915 to 1918, had remained hidden under layers of snow and ice for more than a century. Cleanup operations launched in early August by specialists from the Julia Alpine Brigade ended on October 16.

The operations were carried out in difficult terrain at high altitude. Near the Cima del Frate peak, for example, a popular mountaineering route was temporarily closed to allow a cache of 75 mm artillery shells to be safely removed.

Local authorities said low snowfall in winter 2025 and exceptionally hot weather in summer 2026 sharply accelerated the melting of the Care Alto and Lares glaciers in the Trentino region.

Army officials warn that new munitions from both World War I and World War II emerge each year. Tourists and residents in the area have been instructed not to touch suspicious objects and to immediately provide the relevant authorities with their coordinates and photographs.