Swiss glaciers are losing ice at an alarming rate due to a severe heatwave, with all snow and ice accumulated last winter expected to vanish by Monday. This marks the second-earliest arrival of 'glacier loss day' on record, according to Glacier Monitoring Switzerland (Glamos).
The tipping point, when winter accumulation is fully melted, typically occurs in mid-August. However, this year it arrives three months early, driven by consecutive heatwaves in May and June. Glamos chief Matthias Huss described the melt rates as 'enormous', noting that the Rhone Glacier lost one metre of ice vertically in just ten days.
Switzerland's glaciers have shrunk by 38% in volume between 2000 and 2024, and 1,200 glaciers have disappeared in the past 50 years, leaving only 1,300. Huss warned that if warming continues, only 'some little remnants of ice' will remain by 2100.
The rapid melt threatens major European rivers like the Rhine and Rhone, which rely on glacial meltwater. Huss attributed the crisis to a combination of low snowfall, Sahara dust in March, and persistent high temperatures, calling the situation 'very bad' for the glaciers.
