Swiss Glaciers Lose 5.5% Volume After Record Hot Summer

Switzerland’s glacier monitoring network has reported a 5.5 per cent loss in glacier volume this year, after a record hot summer followed a winter with little snowfall.

2026 melt ranks among the worst on record

The Glacier Monitoring in Switzerland (GLAMOS) network published the finding in a new study, identifying 2026 as a year of severe ice loss.

Experts said on Thursday that Switzerland’s glaciers have lost nearly 20 per cent of their mass in five years.

The 2026 melt was the second biggest on record, according to the experts cited in the report.

Switzerland’s glaciers are described as disproportionately impacted by climate change, adding context to the scale of the recent losses.

‘A catastrophic year’

“The glaciers this year have lost enormous quantities of ice,” GLAMOS chief Matthias Huss said.

Huss described 2026 as “a catastrophic year”.

He warned that “There will be probably no ice in 10 or maybe 15 years,” underlining the urgency of the findings.

The warning follows the new GLAMOS study and the reported combination of a record hot summer and a winter with little snowfall.

Source: South China Morning Post