Switzerland and Italy have redrawn a border that crosses an Alpine peak as melting glaciers change historically defined borders.

The two countries, according to the Guardian, agreed to the modifications below the Matterhorn, one of the highest peaks in Europe, which crosses Switzerland’s Zermatt region and Italy’s Aosta Valley.

Glaciers in Europethe world’s fastest warming continent, are retreating at an accelerating rate due to human-caused climate collapse.

“Significant parts of the border are defined by the watershed or glacier ridges, permafrost or permafrost,” the Swiss government said in a statement cited by Bloomberg. “These formations are changing because of the melting of the glaciers.”

The famous ski resort of Zermatt is affected by the change, with the two countries agreeing to modify the borders around the landmarks of Testa Grigia, Plateau Rosa, Rifugio Carrel and Gobba di Rollin based on their economic interests, Bloomberg reported.

A joint Italian-Swiss committee agreed to the changes in May 2023. Switzerland formally approved the treaty on Friday, but Italy has yet to sign.

The changes come after a years-long dispute between the two countries over the territory of the summit.

Swiss glaciers lost 4% of their volume in 2023the second largest annual decline on record, according to the Swiss Academy of Sciences. The biggest drop was 6% in 2022.

Experts have stopped measuring ice on some glaciers in Switzerland because there is none left

It is recalled that in July 2023, due to the melting of the ice, the bones of a German climber who disappeared almost 40 years ago while crossing a glacier near the Matterhorn came to the surface.