Swiss glaciers lose 5.5% of ice volume in 2026

Swiss glaciers lost 5.5% of their ice volume in 2026, marking one of the largest annual declines recorded, according to the GLAMOS monitoring network. The loss was below the 2022 record, but researchers said heat and limited winter snow contributed to another severe year of melting. GLAMOS chief Matthias Huss said the 2026 decline was slightly less than the record because glaciers had somewhat more winter snow cover than in 2022. Snow shields darker, exposed ice from the sun and can add to a glacier’s mass if it remains through the summer. This year, however, heat early in the season quickly reduced the snow cover, leaving ice more exposed to subsequent melting. Several glaciers had record losses, including the Rhone and Aletsch, the largest glacier in the Alps. GLAMOS’s findings draw on measurements of reference glaciers that are used to assess conditions across Switzerland’s glacier formations. The annual loss followed years of rapid shrinkage: GLAMOS-based reporting says the country’s glaciers lost nearly one-fifth of their volume over a five-year period. Accounts do not state a consistent baseline for that comparison. The melting also released an estimated 2.