Switzerland Loses Nearly 20 Per Cent Of Glacier Ice Since 2021 As Scientists Warn Of ‘Explosion’ In Melt Rates
· Free Press Journal
Zurich, October 1, 2026: Switzerland has lost nearly one-fifth of its glacier ice in just five years, with scientists warning that rapidly rising melt rates are transforming once ice-covered Alpine landscapes into barren stretches of rock.
Swiss glaciers shrank by 5.5 per cent during the first eight months of 2026, according to an annual monitoring report. The decline followed a winter with little snow and a summer marked by intense heatwaves.
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The latest loss was just below the record set in 2022 and brought the total reduction in Switzerland’s glacier ice since 2021 to 19.4 per cent.
Matthias Huss, a glaciologist at ETH Zürich and lead author of the report, said the speed of the retreat was difficult for many people to comprehend. Areas now largely devoid of ice were covered by glaciers hundreds of metres thick only a generation ago.
“I visited one last week and it’s so impressive to stand in this moonlike landscape where there was a big layer of ice – an extensive glacier – just a few years ago,” said Huss. “And now it’s a rock desert where there are some scattered blocks of old ice still lying around and melting on the hot rocks.”
Scientists have yet to compile a formal count of glaciers lost this year, but said they had witnessed several small ones disappear.
Glaciers Losing Up To 4 Metres In Thickness
The report, produced jointly by the Swiss Glacier Monitoring Network and the Swiss Commission for Cryosphere Observation, found that the average thickness of individual glaciers declined by between 2.5 metres and 4 metres in 2026.
Scientists are also increasingly observing glaciers collapsing from within rather than simply retreating because of surface heat.
According to Huss, streams flowing beneath the ice can carve out large internal caverns, weakening the glaciers and accelerating their collapse.
“You have huge holes like cheese in the middle of the ice that have collapsing roofs,” said Huss. “These are processes that tear the glaciers apart and make them retreat even faster.”
Europe Warming Twice As Fast As Global Average
Europe is warming at twice the global average amid the heat-trapping effects of fossil fuel pollution and the destruction of nature, with Alpine regions experiencing some of the most dramatic changes.
An analysis published by MeteoSwiss found that the summer half-year from April to September was the hottest and driest since records began in 1864.
Since then, humanity has released 1.8 trillion tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, while the planet has warmed by about 1.4C.
Although the heat during the summer of 2026 was more severe than in 2022, Switzerland’s glacier loss remained slightly below the record set that year.
Scientists attributed the difference to limited deposits of Saharan dust, which darken snow and reduce its ability to reflect sunlight, along with slightly greater snow cover at the end of winter and more sunlight during the summer.
Griess Glacier Loses 99% Of Its Area In 20 Years
Huss visited the former Plattalvafirn, also known as the Griess glacier, in September. The glacier once covered a mountain flank but has lost 99% of its area over the past 20 years.
The glacier was among the most closely monitored in the world during the 1950s, and Huss worked with its historical data while he was a PhD student.
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Sheep’s Wool Instead Of Plastic? Swiss NGO Tests Woollen Blankets To Reduce Glacier Melt“What was different at that time is that the rates of retreat were still kind of at a normal level,” said Huss. “What we are seeing now is a complete explosion of these melt rates, leading to the disintegration of glaciers. They’re really just falling apart.”
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