Switzerland’s Glaciers Lose Nearly 20% Of Ice In Five Years, 2026 Records Second-Worst Melt

Switzerland’s glaciers lost nearly 20% of their ice volume over the past five years, with 2026 witnessing the second-largest annual melt on record, according to the Glacier Monitoring in Switzerland (GLAMOS) network.

Swiss glaciers lost around 5.5% of their total volume this year following an exceptionally hot summer and a winter marked by low snowfall.

“This year the glaciers have lost enormous quantities of ice,” GLAMOS chief Matthias Huss said, describing 2026 as a “catastrophic year”.

Glacier Melt More Than Doubles Previous Five-Year Rate

The GLAMOS report found that glacier melt between 2022 and 2026 was more than twice as high as during any previously monitored five-year period.

Switzerland’s glaciers lost almost 20% of their ice volume between 2021 and 2026. The pace of melting has accelerated sharply in recent decades, with 27% of the country’s glacier ice disappearing over the past 10 years, compared with 10% between 1990 and 2000.

The findings were based on detailed measurements from 23 reference glaciers, which researchers extrapolated to nearly 1,300 glaciers across Switzerland.

Record Heat Accelerates Ice Loss

The latest figures follow an exceptionally hot summer. June, July and August 2026 were each the hottest months on record in Switzerland since measurements began in 1864, according to the Swiss Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology.

The protective snow cover on many glaciers had already substantially disappeared during June’s heatwaves and was completely gone by September, including at high elevations.

“Alpine glaciers have no chance of surviving in the long term under such conditions,” GLAMOS said.

Researchers were forced to reposition some measurement stakes higher up the glaciers after ice melted around their original locations.

Average ice thickness declined by between 2.5 and 4 metres on some glaciers, while exposed glacier tongues lost as much as 10 metres of thickness during the summer.

Rhone, Aletsch Among Glaciers Hit By Record Melt

The overall ice loss in 2026 did not surpass the record set in 2022. Some glaciers had accumulated more snow before this year’s summer melt than they had four years earlier.

Lower amounts of Sahara dust on the glaciers also helped reflect more sunlight and limited additional melting.

However, four major glaciers recorded their highest-ever annual melt, including the iconic Rhone Glacier and the Aletsch Glacier, the largest glacier in the Alps.

Glacier Retreat Raises Water Concerns

The accelerating retreat of Switzerland’s glaciers is also raising concerns about future water availability.

Between July and September 2026, Swiss glaciers lost around 2.2 trillion litres of water.

Huss said the scale of the loss was difficult to comprehend, noting that it was more than four times the annual freshwater consumption of Swiss households.

At the Scex Rouge glacier, Huss warned that the remaining ice could disappear within the next 10 to 15 years if current conditions persist.