Swiss glaciers lose more than 5% of ice after record heatwave

Hikers walk on the moraine at the Mont Mine glacier on a warm summer day amid climate change in Ferpecle near Evolene, Switzerland, Sep 3, 2026. (Photo: REUTERS/Denis Balibouse)

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LES DIABLERETS, Switzerland: Swiss glaciers are shrinking rapidly after suffering one of their worst years of ice loss during a record-breaking European heatwave.

Switzerland's glaciers lost more than 5 per cent of their ice in 2026, a report by the Swiss Glacier Monitoring Network (GLAMOS) and the Swiss Commission for Cryosphere Observation of the Swiss Academy of Sciences showed on Thursday (Oct 1).

The findings underscore the accelerating pace of glacier retreat as extreme melt years become routine. Over the past five years, Swiss glaciers have shed almost a fifth of their ice, the report showed, threatening future water supplies and raising questions about the long-term survival of Europe's ice fields.

"Now we are in this new world, in this future, where glaciers are just melting away," Matthias Huss, director of GLAMOS, said.

A combination of a winter with too little snow and record temperatures in the summer led to what Huss called "enormous" melting this year.

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