Swiss glaciers are vanishing: 20% gone in 5 years

Switzerland's glaciers lost nearly 20% of their ice mass over the past five years, more than double any previous five-year stretch, according to the country's annual glacier monitoring report released Thursday. This year's loss came in just below the 2022 record, but major glaciers including the Great Aletsch set all-time loss records of their own. Scientists blame a scorching summer and one of the driest winters on record, with snow cover vanishing even at elevations above 11,000 feet by September.

Researchers also flagged a grim new phenomenon: 'internal decay,' where meltwater carves hidden cavities inside the ice that eventually collapse into craters and speed up retreat. More than 1,100 Swiss glaciers have disappeared since 1973, with two more gone this year alone. Scientists project roughly 80% of Switzerland's glaciers will vanish by century's end even under optimistic emissions scenarios.

The melting ice is, for now, still topping up rivers and reservoirs — this summer's runoff alone equaled about four times the annual household water use in Switzerland. But the report warns that buffer is shrinking along with the ice that produces it, and the water-security cushion Europe has been coasting on is running out.

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