الوضع الليلي
0
Switzerland Just Lost 3% of Its Glacier Ice in a Year as the Alps Heat Up
11:10:13 2026-03-08 1864

Even during the United Nations International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation, Switzerland’s glaciers continued to shrink dramatically. A snow-poor winter was followed by intense heat waves in June 2025, pushing ice loss close to the record-breaking levels seen in 2022. By early July, the winter snowpack had already melted away, exposing the ice beneath far earlier than is typically observed. Cooler weather later in July slowed the damage, but the relief was temporary.

By the end of the year, Switzerland had lost nearly an additional three percent of its total glacier volume. That makes 2025 the fourth most severe year for glacier shrinkage, following 2022, 2023, and 2003. The year added to what is now the fastest decade of glacier loss ever recorded in the country. Since 2015, glaciers across Switzerland have lost about a quarter of their total volume, and more than 1,000 smaller glaciers have already vanished completely.

Major Ice Thickness Reductions Across Key Glaciers

In many areas, the seasonal snow cover melted all the way up to the highest elevations. As a result, glaciers such as the Claridenfirn (Canton of Glarus), the Plaine Morte Glacier (Canton of Bern), and the Silvretta Glacier (Canton of the Grisons) thinned by more than two meters. In southern Valais, glaciers, including the Allalin Glacier and the Findel Glacier, experienced smaller but still significant losses of roughly one meter.

Snow-Poor Winter and Extreme Summer Heat

The winter of 2024/2025 brought unusually low snowfall. Reduced precipitation combined with the third warmest winter half-year (October to March) since records began led to exceptionally shallow snow depths. Parts of northern and central Grisons received less fresh snow than ever previously measured. By the end of April, glaciers held about 13 per cent less snow compared to the average from 2010 to 2020.

June then became the second warmest on record, accelerating snowmelt even at the highest elevations. Although July turned cooler and wetter, August delivered another heatwave. During that period, the zero-degree line rose above 5,000 meters in some areas, contributing to an overall warmer-than-average summer. A few cold fronts between July and September briefly brought fresh snow above 2,500 m above sea level, but lasting snow cover persisted only at the highest mountain peaks.

Glacier Retreat Increasing Mountain Instability

“The continuous diminishing of glaciers also contributes to the destabilising of mountains,” says Matthias Huss, Director of GLAMOS. “This can lead to events such as in the Lötschental valley, where an avalanche of rock and ice buried the village of Blatten.”

 

Reality Of Islam

MOST VIEWS

Importance of Media

9:3:43   2018-11-05

Illuminations

loneliness

9:39:36   2022-12-28

strong personality

10:43:56   2022-06-22

smiling

1:38:41   2021-12-08

allah timing

6:14:3   2023-01-18

true friendship

11:2:27   2022-10-06

loyalty is strength

10:55:53   2022-06-13



IMmORTAL Words
LATEST Sleeping Less Than 5 Hours Was Linked to Higher Risk of 37 Diseases Scientists Uncover Two Hidden Forms of Disorder in Next-Generation Semiconductors A Giant Insect on the Brink of Extinction Is Making an Extraordinary Comeback The Event of Mubahala Preparing the Prophet (PBUH) for Burial and His Burial Paternal Friendship: The Key to Influencing Adolescents Just 1,000 More Steps a Day Linked to Better Mental Health in Teens Engineers Create Revolutionary New Sound Effect Technology Switzerlands Glaciers Lost More Than 5% of Their Ice in Just One Year A Simple Change in Meal Timing Is Linked to Unexpected Changes in Huntingtons Disease Engineers Have Created the First Floating Titanium Scientists Find a Mountain Glacier That Survived the Last Ice Age