Swiss glaciers lost 5.5% of their total ice volume in 2026, the second-largest annual percentage decline on record, according to a report published jointly by the Swiss Glacier Monitoring Network (GLAMOS) and the Swiss Commission for Cryosphere Observation of the Swiss Academy of Sciences. Scientists attribute the retreat to low winter snowfall and record summer heatwaves across the Alps. The loss brings the cumulative decline in Swiss glacier ice volume over the past five years to roughly 20%.
The scale of the 2026 melt was evident across individual glaciers. The Aletsch Glacier, Switzerland's largest, suffered its biggest-ever annual melt, while the Glacier de Tsanfleuron lost more than four metres of average thickness over the year. The Bella Tola glacier in the canton of Valais disappeared entirely. Scientists also observed no snow remaining at elevations as high as 3,500 metres, where several metres of winter snow would normally have survived the summer season. Between July and September 2026, Swiss glaciers lost approximately 2.2 trillion litres of water — a volume equivalent to more than four times the annual drinking water consumption of Swiss households [Source: Irish Times].
GLAMOS director Matthias Huss described 2026 as a 'catastrophic year' for Swiss glaciers, adding that 'Alpine glaciers have no chance of surviving in the long term under such conditions' [Source: Times of Oman]. Unstable terrain conditions resulting from ice loss have made parts of the region unsafe for tourism that is critical to Alpine communities.
The previous record for annual Swiss glacier ice loss was set in 2022, when relative volume loss reached 3.5%. That year, dust clouds blown from the Sahara settled on Swiss glaciers, darkening their surface and causing them to absorb more heat, which accelerated melting. Approximately 1,200 smaller Swiss glaciers have disappeared over the past 50 years. Europe is the world's fastest-warming continent, a backdrop that scientists say continues to drive the long-term trajectory of Alpine ice loss.
Sources: Sky News, The Washington Post, Irish Times, Bloomberg, Times of Oman, Karmactive, The Washington Times, NPR, Houston Public Media