Swiss glaciers lose 20% volume in five years as 2026 melt hits record pace

Switzerland's glaciers have lost nearly 20% of their total ice volume since 2021, according to the Glacier Monitoring in Switzerland (GLAMOS) network. The 2026 melt season ranked as the second-largest on record, with 5.5% of remaining volume disappearing in a single year.

GLAMOS chief Matthias Huss described 2026 as "a catastrophic year" while taking measurements on the Scex Rouge glacier at nearly 3,000 metres altitude. A four-metre aluminium stake installed in late July was fully embedded in ice; by September, more than three metres protruded from the grey surface.

“This is a glacier that isn't surviving. There will be probably no ice in 10 or maybe 15 years.”

"This is a glacier that isn't surviving," Huss said. "There will be probably no ice in 10 or maybe 15 years." The melt rate between 2022 and 2026 was more than twice as high as any previously monitored five-year period.

The acceleration is stark: Swiss glaciers lost 10% of their volume during the 1990s, but 27% in the decade spanning 2016-2026. GLAMOS based its findings on measurements at 23 reference glaciers, extrapolated to nearly 1,300 glacial formations across Switzerland.

The record melt followed Switzerland's hottest summer since measurements began in 1864, with June, July, and August each setting monthly temperature records. A winter with little snowfall preceded the extreme summer heat.