Swiss glaciers lose 5.5% of ice volume in 2026 following winter snow drought and heatwaves
Monitoring bodies Glamos and Scnat reported a loss of 2.5 cubic kilometers of glacier ice in Switzerland this summer, leaving total remaining ice volume at 42.6 cubic kilometers.
Scale of the 2026 ice loss
Swiss glaciers lost 5.5% of their total ice volume during the summer of 2026, according to measurement data released by the Swiss Glacier Monitoring Network (Glamos) and the Swiss Commission for Cryosphere Observation of the Swiss Academy of Sciences (Scnat). The seasonal reduction amounted to 2.5 cubic kilometers of melted ice, a volume equivalent to filling Lake Biel twice or producing 2,200 billion liters of water. Glacial thickness decreased on average by 2.5 to 4 meters, with glacier tongues thinning by up to 10 meters over the warm months. The annual loss rate was the second largest on record, surpassed only by the melt observed in 2022.
Matthias Huss, glaciologist and head of Glamos, described the magnitude of the season.
It was an extreme year for the glaciers.
- Winter half-year ranks among the ten least snowy on record due to low precipitation.
- Early heatwaves melt the protective snow layer covering glaciers.
- Freezing level stays above 4,000 meters for 76 days amid repeated heatwaves.
- Snow cover vanishes entirely even at elevations of 3,500 meters.
- Glamos and Scnat publish annual measurements showing a 5.5% ice volume loss.
Winter drought and summer heatwaves
The rapid loss resulted from a combination of winter precipitation deficits and sustained summer heat. The winter half-year spanning November 2025 to April 2026 registered far less snowfall across all elevation bands than the long-term average, placing it among the ten least snowy winters since records began. This left ice sheets with an unusually thin protective layer heading into late spring.
From May to September, every single month experienced drought conditions and at least one severe heatwave. The zero-degree freezing level remained above 4,000 meters on 76 days, more than double the historical average. Protective snow blankets melted away by June, and by September, no snow cover remained even at altitudes of 3,500 meters above sea level.
- Volume lost in 2026 melt
- 2.5 km³
- Remaining Swiss ice volume
- 42.6 km³
Five-year acceleration and vanished glaciers
The 2026 melt extends a steep five-year shrinkage across the Swiss Alps. Glacial ice volume in Switzerland has contracted by almost 20% over the last five years alone. Four of the past five years now rank among the highest melt rates on record, making the cumulative ice loss in this five-year period nearly double that of the preceding five years.
That such an accumulation of extremely bad years for the glaciers occurs is surprising.
This accelerated retreat has led to the total disintegration of smaller ice bodies. Glamos confirmed that the Bella-Tola glacier in the canton of Valais and the Griessfiren, also known as Plattalvafirn, in the canton of Glarus have vanished entirely based on photographic evaluations.
Diminishing reserves and surface area
Switzerland holds an estimated 42.6 cubic kilometers of remaining glacier ice. This reserve is more than 10 cubic kilometers lower than five years ago and roughly 30 cubic kilometers below the volume recorded 25 years ago. Glacial surface area has diminished to approximately 714 square kilometers, a decline of about one third since the turn of the millennium.
The 2.5 cubic kilometers of ice lost this year corresponds to 2,200 billion liters of runoff. Based on the Swiss average per capita consumption of 142 liters per day, that volume could meet the drinking and domestic water needs of the entire Swiss population for four years and eight months. Glamos and Scnat warned about the trajectory of the remaining ice fields.
Our glaciers have no chance of long-term survival under such conditions.
