environment
Snow and ice on Swiss glaciers melting at alarming rate amid heatwave, expert says
Accumulation on Switzerland’s glaciers from last winter expected to all be gone by Monday amid ‘enormous’ melt rates across Alps
TL;DR
- Winter ice accumulation on Swiss glaciers is expected to melt entirely by Monday, an alarmingly early 'glacier loss day'.
- Heatwaves and a winter with poor snowfall are causing 'enormous' ice and snow melt rates across the Alps.
- Glaciers in Switzerland have already shrunk by 38% between 2000 and 2024, with 1,200 lost in the past 50 years.
- The melting glaciers are a source of water for major European rivers like the Rhine and Rhone.
- If warming trends continue, only small remnants of ice may be left in the Swiss Alps by 2100.