{"id":6582,"date":"2026-10-02T05:45:29","date_gmt":"2026-10-02T05:45:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=6582"},"modified":"2026-10-02T05:45:29","modified_gmt":"2026-10-02T05:45:29","slug":"how-switzerland-lost-20-percent-of-its-ice-in-five-years-climate-crisis-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=6582","title":{"rendered":"How Switzerland lost 20 percent of its ice in five years | Climate Crisis News"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Switzerland\u2019s glaciers are rapidly receding due to a combination of winters with too little snow and record-high temperatures across Europe this summer, scientists say. In all, one of the world\u2019s top ski destinations has lost nearly one-fifth of its glacial ice in just five years.<\/p>\n

In a report (PDF)<\/a> published by the Swiss Glacier Monitoring Network (GLAMOS) and the Swiss Commission for Cryosphere Observation of the Swiss Academy of Sciences (SCNAT) on Thursday, researchers said Swiss glaciers lost 5.5 percent of their ice volume over the hydrologic year ending September 30, 2026, and nearly 20 percent since 2021.<\/p>\n

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Recommended Stories <\/h2>\n

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Why is Switzerland, famed for its Alpine terrain and winter sports, losing its glaciers and what does this mean for the country?<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what we know.<\/p>\n

What have scientists discovered?<\/h2>\n

In September, a GLAMOS team visited 23 glaciers in Switzerland to record end-of-summer measurements of ice melt and snow accumulation.<\/p>\n

Visiting one glacier named Scex Rouge in the Western Swiss Alps in early September, GLAMOS chief Matthias Huss, one of the report\u2019s researchers, told the Reuters news agency that a measuring pole, about four metres (13 feet) high, was drilled into the ice in July to provide the team with a point of reference.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow when we have come back here, we saw the pole was out by three metres [10ft]. So just in August and September of this year, even excluding the heatwaves of June and July, we have lost three metres of ice at an elevation of almost 3,000 metres [9,843ft],\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis clearly indicates these conditions that we had this summer, they are just inconsistent with the survival of these small glaciers in the Alps,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\"Glaciologist
Glaciologist at ETH Zurich and head of GLAMOS Matthias Huss holds a pole that indicates four metres of ice lost over the past year on the Scex Rouge glacier amid climate change at Glacier 3000 in Les Diablerets, Switzerland [File: Denis Balibouse\/Reuters]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Why are glaciers in Switzerland losing ice?<\/h2>\n

According to the report, the total mean thickness of individual glaciers in Switzerland has fallen by between 2.5 and four metres in 2026. At glacier tongues \u2013 narrow glacial extensions of a glacier which project from land into a body of water \u2013 it had decreased by as much as 10 metres in some places over the summer.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can clearly attribute the massive ice loss to the warming, and thus anthropogenic [caused by humans] climate change. The summer has been the hottest on record in Switzerland. In addition, there was little snow in winter, and therefore the glaciers were poorly protected when the heat started,\u201d GLAMOS chief Huss told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n

He noted that while their measurements have indicated that the melting has affected all glaciers in Switzerland equally, the effects were most visible on smaller glaciers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose shrink very quickly and sometimes even completely disappeared. Also, large glaciers lost an enormous quantity of ice, but they remain impressive,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

The report\u2019s scientists warned that the glaciers also lost a total of about 2.2 trillion litres of water (581 billion gallons) between July and September alone.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is more than four times the annual drinking water consumption of all Swiss households,\u201d the report\u2019s researchers said and warned this could impact the country\u2019s future water supply.<\/p>\n

What does this mean for Switzerland?<\/h2>\n

Switzerland is a country known for winter sports and Alpine tourism, which depends on the glaciers. About 4 percent of the country\u2019s entire workforce is employed in the tourism sector.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis affects tourism and also how we perceive the mountains \u2013 they are no longer white but increasingly grey and black,\u201d he told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n

He added that the water provided by glaciers is also important for the economy. \u201cIt is used to fill up hydropower lakes that produce clean energy, and supplies the biggest streams of Europe,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not yet seeing the full consequences as glaciers are still around and they contribute water when we need it. But this potential is soon being lost,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Harry Zekollari, a glaciologist and associate research professor at the Department of Water and Climate at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, shared a similar view.<\/p>\n

He stressed that glaciers are important natural water suppliers, as they provide water when people need it most \u2013 in summer, when it is hot and dry.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith climate change, glaciers initially provide more water during summer as they rapidly melt. However, as glaciers become smaller, there is less ice to be melted, and as such the water supply in summer decreases. This peak in water supply has now been passed for glaciers in the European Alps, meaning that we expect glaciers to provide less and less water in the coming years,\u201d he told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n

\u201cGlacier changes can also cause natural hazards, and since most of the ice lost turns into water that reaches the oceans, the consequences of glacier loss [in Switzerland and elsewhere] will be felt for coastlines all around the globe,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Is there a solution?<\/h2>\n

Yes. According to Zekollari, in order to save as much glacier ice as possible in Switzerland, the world needs to stabilise rising temperatures as soon as possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cProjections for the European Alps and Swiss glaciers show that if we are able to rapidly stop emissions, we may still be able to save about one-third of their ice mass. However, in a case with strong warming, these glaciers are projected to lose more than 90 percent of their volume by 2100,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He noted that the situation is less grim globally as some glaciers in other regions are more persistent.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, even globally, future emissions play a big role and will decide whether we lose about 25 percent of glacier mass by 2100 \u2013 that\u2019s the good case, with limited warming \u2013 or rather 50 percent \u2013 the bad case, with more warming,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe losses in the longer term \u2013 past 2100 \u2013 are even larger due to the long response of glaciers, but also here it is the future warming that decides how much remains. Every 0.1 degree Celsius warming matters.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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Switzerland\u2019s glaciers are rapidly receding due to a combination of winters with too little snow and record-high temperatures across Europe this summer, scientists say. In all, one of the world\u2019s top ski destinations has lost nearly one-fifth of its glacial ice in just five years. In a report (PDF) published by the Swiss Glacier Monitoring…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6583,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_templately_pack_id":"","_templately_imported_at":"","_templately_source":"","_templately_import_session_id":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6582","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-international-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t