Swiss glaciers lose 5.5% of mass amid record heat

Glaciers in Switzerland have lost 5.5% of their mass amid abnormally high temperatures and a winter with little snowfall across Europe, according to the Swiss Glacier Monitoring Network (GLAMOS).

The decline made 2026 the year with the second-largest glacier retreat since records began, GLAMOS said.

It added that glacier melting between 2022 and 2026 was “more than twice as high as during any previously observed five-year period.” Over the past five years, glaciers have lost nearly one-fifth of their mass. The decline was around 10% between 1990 and 2000 and reached 27% over the past decade.

According to the Swiss Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology, June, July and August were the hottest months recorded in Switzerland since measurements began in 1864.

The GLAMOS report said protective snow cover on the glaciers partially disappeared during heatwaves in June. By September, it had completely melted, including at higher elevations.

“Under such conditions, Alpine glaciers have no chance of surviving in the long term,” the report said.

Stabil.Az