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Swiss glaciers lost almost 20% of their ice volume between 2021 and 2026, according to the 2026 report from Glacier Monitoring in Switzerland (GLAMOS). The loss was not a 20% decline in glacier area: it measures the volume of ice. A poor winter snowpack followed by intense summer melt drove the latest losses, while several years of extreme conditions compounded the decline.
What does “almost 20%” measure?
The figure is a change in the estimated volume of ice held by Swiss glaciers since 2021. It does not mean that glacier surface area, glacier count, or annual mass balance fell by 20%. GLAMOS estimates that at the end of 2026 Switzerland had about 42.6 cubic kilometres of glacier ice spread across 714 square kilometres of glacier area. The area was about one-third smaller than in 2000. Those are different measures: volume describes how much ice there is, while area describes the ground it covers.
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GLAMOS estimates national change by measuring annual mass balance at selected glaciers, then extending the observed regional patterns to the roughly 1,300 glaciers in the Swiss Glacier Inventory 2023. The hydrological year runs from 1 October to 30 September. Annual mass balance accounts for winter snow accumulation and summer loss of snow, firn, and ice. Field measurements are converted to water equivalent and spatially extrapolated. Longer-term volume estimates also draw on geodetic comparisons of elevation models; GLAMOS documentation describes converting volume change to geodetic mass balance using an assumed ice density of 850 kilograms per cubic metre. GLAMOS’s 2026 annual report explains the annual estimate, and its download page provides monitoring data.
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Why did glacier losses accelerate?
Glacier change reflects both how much snow accumulates in winter and how much ice and snow melt in summer. In 2026, the balance tilted sharply toward loss: snow across Swiss glaciers was 25% below average at winter’s end, and summer melt was 58% above its 2010–2020 average, according to GLAMOS. With a thin snow layer depleted early, bare ice was exposed to prolonged melting. The report also identifies summer snowfall, solar radiation, and Saharan dust as influences; it does not quantify the relative contribution of each factor.
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Heat mattered, but it was not the only cause. Snow cover can protect underlying ice from sunlight and delay exposure of darker bare ice. The 2026 report says less Saharan dust deposition than in 2022, together with a somewhat less deficient end-of-winter snowpack, helped moderate the 2026 loss relative to 2022 despite higher temperatures. GLAMOS reported that summer melt in 2026 was exceptionally high.
How exceptional were the five years?
GLAMOS estimates that glaciers lost 5.5% of their volume in 2026. That was the second-largest annual national loss on record, behind 2022’s 5.9%. The annual losses in 2022 and 2023 were 5.9% and 4.4%, respectively. Across 2022–2026, the melt rate was more than twice as high as in any earlier monitored five-year period.
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| Period | Estimated Swiss glacier volume lost |
|---|---|
| 1990–2000 | 10% |
| 2000–2010 | 14% |
| 2010–2020 | 17% |
| 2016–2026 | 27% |
The decade figures show the pace of decline rising over time; the last row is a rolling decade, not the same period as the 2022–2026 five-year estimate. GLAMOS’s account of the 2022 and 2023 losses is also reflected in SCNAT’s 2022 report and its 2023 report.
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What does the loss mean for water?
GLAMOS estimated that glaciers released around 2,200 billion litres of water between July and September 2026—more than four times Swiss households’ annual drinking-water consumption, according to the institutional release. That meltwater can help ease summer water shortages, but its contribution diminishes as ice-covered area shrinks. Lower glacier runoff can complicate water management for irrigation, hydropower, ecosystems, and transport, particularly during drought. The WSL and SCNAT release reports the 2026 figures and their implications.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What is known about glaciers that disappeared?
The 2026 annual report says final figures are not yet available for the number of individual glaciers that disappeared during summer 2026. A fuller count is expected with the next Swiss Glacier Inventory, around 2028, so early reports of individual disappearances should not be treated as a final national total.
GLAMOS is coordinated by the Swiss Commission for Cryosphere Observation of the Swiss Academy of Sciences (SCNAT), with teams at ETH Zurich, the University of Fribourg, and the University of Zurich. Switzerland’s broader monitoring includes glacier area and volume, snow accumulation, ice melt, flow, and ice temperatures; swisstopo’s overview of glacier monitoring describes the system.
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