In a startling revelation, Swiss glaciers have undergone a harrowing 10% reduction in their volume over a mere two-year period, according to a recently published report.
Scientists have unequivocally attributed this alarming decline to the deleterious effects of climate breakdown, primarily stemming from the unabated combustion of fossil fuels. Unusually sweltering summers and winters, resulting in minimal snow accumulation, have accelerated the glacier melts. Shockingly, the volume lost during the torrid summers of 2022 and 2023 parallels the entire volume depletion observed between 1960 and 1990.
This disconcerting analysis, conducted by the eminent Swiss Academy of Sciences, has further revealed that a staggering 4% of Switzerland’s overall glacier volume evaporated during this year alone, marking the second-largest annual contraction ever recorded. The nadir was reached in 2022 when an unprecedented 6% decline occurred, representing the most substantial thaw since records commenced.
Perhaps even more disheartening is the fact that some glaciers have now become so bereft of ice that monitoring efforts have been terminated. The Glacier Monitoring in Switzerland (Glamos) program, responsible for overseeing 176 glaciers, recently ceased measurements at the St Annafirn glacier in the central Swiss canton of Uri, as the glacier had essentially melted into oblivion.
Matthias Huss, the head of Glamos, laments the predicament, elucidating, “We just had some dead ice left. It’s a combination of climate change that makes such extreme events more likely, and the very bad combination of meteorological extremes. If we continue at this rate… we will see every year such bad years.”
Huss asserts that small glaciers are vanishing due to the alarming pace of ice loss. To preserve Switzerland’s glacial heritage, immediate actions to curtail emissions are imperative. Nevertheless, even if global warming is held in check at 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels, forecasts predict that only one-third of Switzerland’s glacier volume will endure.
This portends the inevitable demise of many small glaciers, with the larger ones diminishing substantially. Huss, however, remains hopeful that at least “there will be some ice in the highest regions of the Alps and some glaciers that we can show to our grandchildren.”
The Swiss Alps bore witness to record-breaking warmth this year, with the Swiss weather service noting an unprecedented elevation at which precipitation freezes, reaching a lofty 5,289 meters (17,350 feet), surpassing the previous year’s record of 5,184 meters.
The vanishing ice is leaving a profound imprint on the mountainous landscape. New lakes are forming adjacent to glacier tongues for the first time in recorded history, while bare rock emerges from receding ice. Additionally, bodies long concealed beneath the ice are resurfacing as ice sheets dwindle.
Swiss records of these environmental changes date back mainly to 1960, with some data extending to 1914 for certain glaciers.
This disconcerting trend underscores the urgent need for global climate action, as Switzerland’s iconic glaciers face an existential crisis, with consequences that resonate far beyond its borders.
