ZURICH, SWITZERLAND / RankWire.AI / – In 2026, Switzerland’s glaciers saw a reduction of 5.5% in their ice volume, representing the country’s second-largest annual percentage decrease on record. This shrinkage followed a winter marked by limited snowfall and a summer characterized by multiple heatwaves. Glacier Monitoring Switzerland, known as GLAMOS, assessed the losses across the Swiss Alps during the 2026 monitoring season. The Swiss Academy of Sciences reported that nearly 20% of Switzerland’s glacier volume has vanished over the past five years.
The winter of 2025 to 2026 was among Switzerland’s 10 least snowy since systematic measurements began, with persistent hot and dry conditions from May through September intensifying the strain on exposed glacier surfaces. The freezing level crossed above 4,000 metres on 76 days, more than double the typical for the warm season. By September, researchers found no snow left at elevations around 3,500 metres in monitored zones.
Average glacier thickness decreased by approximately 2.5 to 4 metres during the recent monitoring period, with some glacier tongues losing as much as 10 metres of ice. Major glaciers such as Allalin, Clariden, Great Aletsch, and Rhône experienced their most significant melt since measurements began. Only 2022 recorded a larger national percentage loss in Switzerland’s long-standing glacier record. The retreat impacted both high-altitude ice and lower sections throughout the Alps.
Decline of Smaller Glaciers Reflects Deepening Alpine Ice Loss
Several smaller glaciers completely vanished during the 2026 season, including Bella Tola in Valais and Griessfirn in Glarus, contributing to a broader trend of ongoing ice loss across Switzerland’s Alpine zones. National data indicates that glacier volume has decreased by nearly 20% since 2021, following successive years of weak snowfall accumulation and intense summer melting. Researchers observed widespread thinning across both large glaciers and smaller ice bodies.
Between July and September, glacier melt released about 2.2 trillion litres of water—more than four times the annual drinking-water needs of Swiss households—entering Alpine rivers during a period of widespread summer dryness. These figures reveal the substantial volume of ice that transitioned into Switzerland’s water cycle in just three months, with elevated summer temperatures speeding up the seasonal ice loss at many sites.
2026’s Snow Conditions Set Apart from Record Melt Year
Although the 2026 melt was significant, it did not surpass the record set in 2022, when glacier conditions were even more extreme. One factor was that many glaciers entered the 2026 melt season with marginally more snow than in 2022, and during 2026, less Saharan dust settled on the snow. Cleaner snow reflects more sunlight, whereas dust-covered surfaces absorb more solar energy, influencing melt rates.
Nonetheless, Switzerland experienced extraordinary glacier losses at both high elevations and lower tongues in 2026. Field surveys, snow measurements, and mass-balance observations documented changes through September’s end. The results revealed extensive ice loss, the disappearance of smaller glaciers, and significant reductions in thickness across the country, placing 2026 among the most severe years recorded in Swiss glacier history. This latest data underscores a sharp contraction in the glacier system, which has been shrinking rapidly in recent years.