Swiss glaciers have suffered a near‑record loss of ice in 2026, new data shows, as intense summer heatwaves take their toll on Alpine peaks.
More than 5% of the country’s remaining glacier ice has disappeared in the last 12 months, a figure scientists describe as “extraordinary”. The rapid melting is no longer a surprise—climate change is moving too fast for many Alpine glaciers to keep up.
Glaciers feed the Alpine water cycle: runoff powers irrigation, hydropower and even shipping routes during hot, dry periods. This summer, Swiss glaciers released an estimated 2.2 trillion litres of meltwater between July and September, easing shortages temporarily. Yet the outflow is drawing down the frozen reserve; the next heatwave will find glaciers that have lost the snow cover that feeds them.
High‑altitude sites have surprised scientists: even at 3,500 metres, no snow remained by the end of summer. With the snow‑pack gone, glaciers can no longer replenish lost ice, ‘starving’ and shrinking under a warming climate.
Beyond Switzerland, the loss of glacier ice threatens flood‑prone valleys like the North Sea coast, where rising sea levels could put billions of people at risk. Experts say that sharp cuts to carbon emissions can still preserve much of the world’s glacier ice, particularly in the Himalayas and polar regions.
Reporting by Mark Poynting and Dominic Bailey; technical updates by Dr Matthias Huss, Glacial Monitoring Switzerland.
