- Switzerland’s glaciers suffer catastrophic ice loss.
- 10% of glaciers gone in two years.
- Rising temperatures and low snowfall.
The country has experienced a “catastrophic” loss of ice in recent years, with as much ice melting in the past two years as in the entire three decades before 1990.
New research reveals that Switzerland has witnessed a devastating 10% reduction in its glaciers within just two years due to rising summer temperatures and decreased winter snowfall.
Switzerland, home to Europe’s largest number of glaciers, encountered a disheartening loss of 4% of its total glacier volume in 2023, marking the second-largest annual decline following the record-breaking 6% reduction in 2022.
Glacier Monitoring Switzerland (GLAMOS) experts attribute this massive ice loss to a combination of extremely low winter snowfall and high summer temperatures, which eroded the glaciers across the nation, even those in southern and eastern regions that had experienced rapid melting in the previous year.
In certain locations, ice melt has been so extensive that monitoring had to be discontinued.
Matthias Huss, the leader of GLAMOS, documented the situation on social media, sharing images of newly formed lakes near glacier tongues, meltwater streams coursing through ice caves, and exposed rocks as the ice thins.
Huss explained, “This year was extremely problematic for glaciers because there was very little snow in the winter, and it was very warm in the summer. The combination of these two factors is the worst thing that can happen to glaciers.”
Switzerland, home to over half of the Alps’ glaciers, is experiencing temperatures rising at nearly double the global average due to climate change.
The melting ice sheets are exposing long-lost remains in some regions.
GLAMOS researchers reported ice thickness losses of up to three meters (10 feet) in locations such as the Gries Glacier in Valais, the Basodino Glacier in the southern canton of Ticino, and the Vadret Pers glacier system in eastern Graubunden.
Even regions that received more winter snowfall, like the central Bernese Oberland and Valais areas, showed an average glacier thickness decrease of over two meters.
The Aletsch Glacier in the Valais canton and the Plaine Morte Glacier in the Bern canton are among the affected glaciers in these regions.
In summary, Switzerland is witnessing a rapid and concerning decline in its glaciers due to a combination of low winter snowfall and high summer temperatures, posing significant environmental challenges.
