Devastating year for Switzerland's glaciers after extreme heat and low snow
Switzerland's glaciers lost more than 5% of their ice volume in 2026. Although melt rates did not quite reach the record levels of 2022, glacier thickness decreased by an average of 2.5 to 4 meters (8 to 13 feet) this year, ...
Some smaller glaciers melted completely
The Rhône, Aletsch and Clariden glaciers, among others, experienced their greatest melt on record in 2026. Several smaller glaciers disappeared completely and permanently, including Bella Tola in the canton of Valais and Griessfirn in the canton of Glarus. Nearly 20% of Switzerland's glacier volume has disappeared in the past five years alone. The new data highlight how rapidly Switzerland's glacier landscape is changing.
The findings are presented in the annual report of the Swiss Academy of Sciences (SCNAT) and are based on long-term data on Swiss glaciers reported by GLAMOS, the Glacier Monitoring Network. GLAMOS is headquartered at ETH Zurich and the universities of Fribourg and Zurich in Switzerland.
Heat and lack of snow accelerated the loss
The winter of 2025–2026 was among the 10 least snowy in the country since measurements began. Hot, dry conditions followed between May and September 2026, leading to excessive melt even at the highest elevations. For 76 days, summer heat waves pushed the freezing level above 4,000 meters (13,100 feet)—more than twice the average and a Swiss record. By September, no snow remained even at 3,500 meters (11,500 feet), leaving glaciers without a protective snow cover.
Glacier melt temporarily eases water shortages
Extent of ice loss at Konkordiaplatz on the Great Aletsch Glacier, canton Valais between 2022 and 2026, compared with the average of measurements taken between 1953 and 1983. Credit: M. Huss / A. Linsbauer
Work at the highest measuring point on the Rhône Glacier, canton Valais. This summer, the glacier has receded right up to the highest elevations—something that has never happened since records began, prior to 2022. Credit: M. Huss
Glaciologists on the Findel Glacier in canton Valais. The ice around the Matterhorn continues to recede dramatically, and the glacier's foreland, with its lakes and scree, is expanding. Credit: M. Huss