Glaciers in Switzerland are melting at a record pace - they have already lost a fifth of their mass since 2021

According to the latest annual report prepared by the Swiss Glacier Monitoring Network and the Cryosphere Observation Commission, in the first eight months of 2026 alone, glaciers in Switzerland shrank by 5.5%. This is an almost record result, second only to the disastrous year of 2022. Since 2021, the country has already lost 19.4%. the volume of ice is almost one fifth of the total mass of glaciers.

Scientists emphasize that the pace of this process is shocking even to experts. Just a generation ago, what are now wastelands were covered with hundreds of meters of ice. Today, in many of them, only scattered blocks of old ice remain, which melt on hot rocks.

Lunar landscapes instead of white glaciers

Matthias Huss, a glaciologist at ETH Zürich, describes his recent visits to areas where until recently there were huge glaciers. It's an amazing feeling to stand in a place where a few years ago there was a thick glacier, and today there is a desert, rocky landscape. Only remnants of ice remain, which are slowly disappearing in the heat, the scientist reports in an interview with The Guardian.

In 2026, the average thickness of individual glaciers decreased from 4 to even 2.5 meters. Moreover, researchers are observing more and more frequent cases of glaciers collapsing from the inside. Vast caves and tunnels form under the ice surface, which lead to the rapid disintegration of entire masses of ice.

Huge holes appear in the center of the glacier, resembling Swiss cheese. When the roofs of these pits collapse, the glacier literally falls apart, Huss explains.

Record heat and no snow

The reasons for this dramatic phenomenon are primarily record temperatures and lack of snowfall. MeteoSwiss analysis showed that the period from April to September 2026 was the warmest and driest since the beginning of measurements, i.e. since 1864. During this time, the average temperature of the planet has already increased by 1.4 degrees Celsius, and 1.8 trillion tons of carbon dioxide have been released into the atmosphere.

This year's summer was even hotter than the memorable year of 2022, although ice losses were slightly lower. Scientists explain this, among others: less rainfall of Saharan dust, which usually accelerates melting, and slightly greater snow cover at the end of winter.

One of the most spectacular examples is the fate of the Plattalvafirn glacier (also known as Griess), which has lost as much as 99% of its glacier in two decades. its surface. Back in the 1950s, it was one of the best monitored glaciers in the world.