Swiss glaciers suffer ‘disastrous’ year of ice loss, threatening water supplies

Swiss glaciers lost 5.5 per cent of their remaining ice in 2026, one of the worst years ever recorded, after a winter with too little snow was followed by enormous summer melting. The figures, released on 30 September 2026 by the Swiss Glacier Monitoring Network (GLAMOS) and the Swiss Academy of Sciences (SCNAT), confirm a second year of disastrous losses following Europe’s record-breaking heat.

Matthias Huss, who leads GLAMOS, returned from his annual fieldwork this summer to find glaciers “completely devoid of ice”. “It’s a moon landscape that is dry and dead,” he told NPR. “There are some little remnants, some ice blocks still lying around and melting there on the hot rocks.”

FAKTA

• Finding: Swiss glaciers lost 5.5% of their remaining ice in 2026 — one of the worst annual losses ever recorded.
• Source: GLAMOS and the Swiss Academy of Sciences, reporting 30 September 2026.
• Record year: The worst remains 2022, with a 6% single-year loss; 2026 was only slightly less severe because of marginally more winter snow.
• Hardest hit: Individual glaciers, including the mighty Rhône and Aletsch — Switzerland’s largest — suffered record ice loss this year.
• Why it matters: The Alps are Europe’s water towers; their meltwater feeds the Rhine and the Danube, key to food supply and more.
• Why it happened: A snow-poor winter followed by record summer heat.

Record melt across the Alps

The 2026 report shows the ice loss at 5.5 per cent — only slightly below the 2022 record of 6 per cent, and the difference comes down to slightly more winter snow covering the ice, not cooler summers. Ominously, individual glaciers suffered their biggest-ever melt this year, including some of the country’s most famous ice masses.

Alpine plants are now seeding themselves in areas that were once covered by glaciers metres thick, a visible sign of how rapidly the landscape is changing.

Europe’s water towers under threat

The retreat matters far beyond Switzerland. These huge ice fields are often called Europe’s water towers: they store winter snow and release it gently as meltwater over spring and summer. That snowmelt fills Europe’s key waterways, including the Rhine and the Danube, supporting agriculture, hydropower, navigation and drinking water across the continent.

Scientists warn that the accelerating retreat threatens long-term water security across Europe, even though this summer’s surge of meltwater briefly eased drought conditions.

Part of a global trend

Glaciers around the world have been shrinking at increasingly rapid rates, a phenomenon scientists link directly to global warming. The Swiss figures are among the most precisely measured anywhere, making the country a bellwether for what is happening to ice worldwide.

Read more

• Swiss glaciers suffer another year of record ice loss — NPR
• Swiss glaciers suffer another year of record ice loss — NPR Illinois

Frequently asked questions

How much ice did Swiss glaciers lose in 2026?

GLAMOS reported a 5.5% loss of remaining ice in 2026 — one of the worst annual losses ever recorded, behind only the 6% record set in 2022.

Why are glacier losses a problem for Europe?

Alpine glaciers act as Europe’s water towers, storing winter snow and releasing meltwater through spring and summer into the Rhine and Danube. Losing them threatens long-term water supplies for drinking water, agriculture, hydropower and navigation.