ZURICH, SWITZERLAND / RankWire.AI / – In 2026, Switzerland’s glaciers experienced a reduction of 5.5% in their ice volume, marking the second-largest percentage decrease ever documented. This significant loss followed a winter characterized by remarkably low snowfall and a summer dominated by extreme heat. Glacier Monitoring Switzerland, known as GLAMOS, compiled data on these changes across the Swiss Alps. The Swiss Academy of Sciences also issued a report on the nationwide findings. Over the past five years, nearly 20% of Switzerland’s glacier volume has vanished.
The winter of 2025 to 2026 was among Switzerland’s ten least snowy since records began, with warm and dry conditions persisting from May through September. During the warm season, the freezing level rose above 4,000 metres on 76 days, surpassing the average more than twofold and setting a new Swiss record. By September, researchers observed no snow remaining at elevations around 3,500 metres, exposing glacier ice across high Alpine regions.
During the 2026 measurement period, the average thickness of glaciers dropped between 2.5 and 4 metres, with some glacier tongues losing as much as 10 metres of ice. Several major glaciers reported their highest melt levels since measurements started, including the Allalin, Clariden, Great Aletsch, and Rhône glaciers. These losses placed 2026 just behind 2022, which still holds the record for the most severe glacier melt in Switzerland’s documented history.
Smaller Swiss glaciers vanish as ice depletion accelerates
During the latest monitoring period, several minor Swiss glaciers completely disappeared. Among them were Bella Tola in the canton of Valais and Griessfirn in Glarus. Their disappearance aligns with a broader trend of decline across Switzerland’s Alpine ice fields. Data indicates that glacier volume has decreased by nearly 20% since 2021, driven by years of low snowfall and extensive summer melting across much of the Swiss Alps.
Meltwater from Swiss glaciers also contributed to water supplies during the arid summer months. From July to September, glaciers released approximately 2.2 trillion litres of water—more than four times the annual drinking water needs of all Swiss households. This meltwater fed into Alpine rivers and other water bodies amid widespread summer dryness, illustrating how rapidly glacier ice has entered Switzerland’s water cycle during just three months of 2026.
2026 melt season influenced by minimal snow and intense summer heat
While the glacier melt in 2026 did not surpass the record set in 2022, snow conditions partly explain the differences. Many glaciers entered the summer with marginally more snow than in 2022, and fewer Saharan dust particles settled on the snow this year. Cleaner snow reflects more sunlight, whereas dust-darkened surfaces absorb more solar energy, potentially increasing melting when other conditions are similar.
Despite these variations, the 2026 data reveal significant ice loss across both high elevations and lower glacier tongues. The season adds yet another year of substantial decline to Switzerland’s long-term glacier record. Field measurements, snow surveys, and glacier mass-balance observations throughout the country documented extensive ice loss, disappearance of smaller glaciers, and notable reductions in thickness, confirming 2026 as one of the most severe years for Swiss glacier melt ever recorded.