Nearly 20% of Switzerland’s glacier ice has vanished in just five years
Switzerland's glaciers lost nearly 20% of their total ice volume over the last five years due to record-breaking summer heat and low snowfall. Several smaller glaciers have vanished entirely, signaling a rapid transformation of the alpine landscape.
Why it matters
The accelerated melting of glaciers serves as a critical indicator of climate change and threatens long-term water security and regional ecosystems.
Switzerland's glaciers lost more than 5% of their total ice volume in 2026, marking another devastating year for the country's rapidly shrinking glaciers. Although the melting did not quite match the record losses of 2022, glaciers thinned by an average of 2.5 to 4 meters. In some areas, the lower sections of glaciers lost as much as 10 meters of ice.
Several of Switzerland's major glaciers, including the Rh ne, Aletsch, and Clariden glaciers, experienced their most severe melting on record in 2026. The losses were even more dramatic for some smaller glaciers, which disappeared entirely. Among them were Bella Tola in the canton of Valais and Griessfirn in the canton of Glarus, both of which have now vanished permanently.
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