Swiss glaciers lose record ice amount in 'disastrous' 2026
Swiss glaciers lost more than 5% of their remaining ice over the past year, a rate scientists call disastrous, raising concerns about future water supplies.
New data shows Swiss glaciers suffered one of their most dramatic years of ice loss in 2026, driven by intense summer heatwaves across the Alps. More than 5% of the country's remaining glacier ice disappeared over the past 12 months, a figure scientists describe as extraordinary.
Dr Matthias Huss, director of Glacier Monitoring Switzerland, which produced the report, called the situation disastrous. Until recently, glaciologists considered a 2% annual ice loss to be extreme; this year's estimated loss reached 5.5%.
No snow left even at high altitude
One of the most troubling findings came from measurement sites at the highest elevations, where temperatures are coldest and glaciers are usually snow-covered. Even at 3,500 metres above sea level, researchers found no snow remaining by the end of summer. At some glaciers, up to four metres of ice loss were recorded at the highest point, where several metres of winter snow would normally still be present at this time of year.
Snow acts as a kind of food source for glaciers — under stable conditions, some of it compacts into ice over time, offsetting melting at lower, warmer elevations. When no snow survives the summer, glaciers lose this replenishment, causing them to shrink and eventually disappear.
Risks to water supplies and landslides
Scientists warn that such rapid melting could threaten water supplies needed for farming, hydropower and transport in the coming decades. Glacier loss can also destabilise mountain slopes, raising the risk of landslides that in extreme cases can trigger flash flooding — as seen in Nepal in August, when a large collapse of bedrock and glacier ice occurred.
Researchers note that glacier shrinkage itself is no longer surprising given climate change, but the pace of this year's melting is alarming. Some glaciers, such as Plattalva in eastern Switzerland, have already vanished entirely, and scientists say the climate is now too warm for many Alpine glaciers to survive.
