Switzerland’s Glaciers Vanish at Unprecedented Rate

(MENAFN) Switzerland’s glaciers are vanishing at a rate never seen before, with climate change accelerating their rapid retreat. Once expansive ice flows, many glaciers have receded so drastically that a stroll that took minutes near the Rhône Glacier 35 years ago now requires a half-hour hike, Matthias Huss, director of Glacier Monitoring in Switzerland (GLAMOS), told media on Sunday.

This alarming glacier melt is part of a worldwide trend. The World Meteorological Organization reported that in 2024, glaciers outside Greenland and Antarctica lost a staggering 450 billion tons of ice—equivalent to a 7-kilometer cube or enough to fill 180 million Olympic-sized swimming pools.

Switzerland’s ice masses have been severely impacted, losing a quarter of their glacier volume over the last decade. Satellite imagery shows the Rhône Glacier now ends in a lake that was once solid ice, while smaller glaciers such as the Pizol in the northeast Alps have disappeared completely.

Previously, a 2% yearly loss of glacier ice in the Alps was seen as extreme. Yet, Switzerland’s glaciers declined by nearly 6% in 2022, with continued significant losses recorded through 2023, 2024, and 2025. Even the Alps’ largest glacier, the Great Aletsch, has shrunk by approximately 2.3 kilometers (1.4 miles) in the past 75 years, with forests now growing where ice once flowed.

While glaciers have naturally fluctuated over centuries, scientists warn that the recent unprecedented rate of melt is driven by human-induced climate change. Glaciers will continue to shrink even if global temperatures stabilize, due to the delayed response between climate shifts and glacier melt.

"A large part of the future melt of the glaciers is already locked in," said Prof Ben Marzeion from the Institute of Geography at the University of Bremen. "They are lagging climate change," he added.

Keeping global warming below 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels could save half of the remaining mountain glacier ice. However, a rise of 2.7°C could ultimately wipe out three-quarters of these glaciers.

This ongoing ice loss threatens critical water supplies. Glaciers serve as vital natural reservoirs, supplying meltwater to rivers, agriculture, hydropower, and drinking water. The consequences are especially dire in Asia’s “Third Pole,” where nearly 800 million people depend on glacier-fed rivers.

Despite the bleak situation, experts see hope. "It's sad. But at the same time, it's also empowering. If you decarbonise and reduce the [carbon] footprint, you can preserve glaciers. We have it in our hands," said Professor Regine Hock of the University of Oslo.

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