Swiss glaciers have suffered severe losses because of overheating of the planetwith their volume decreasing by a quarter within ten years, according to a new study recently published. Research raises concern about accelerated melting of glaciers.

In 2025, the Swiss Glamos network, which monitors the status of glaciers, recorded a significant decrease in ice for another year, near 2022 records.

The winter with limited snowfall and the heat waves of June and August led to a loss of 3% of the glacier volume, according to measurements by about twenty glaciers, the results of which were applied to the country’s 1,400 glacies.

This loss is the fourth largest decrease since the start of the measurements, after the years 2022, 2023 and 2003.

“For about 20 years, all Swiss glaciers have been losing ice and the pace (…) has accelerated,” said Matthias Jus, director of Glamos.

Swiss glaciers, which are critical to hydroelectricity and drinking water supply, lost 24% of their volume between 2015 and 2025, compared to 17% in 2010-2020, 14% between 2000-2010 and 10% during the period 1990-2000, according to the report.

Switzerland is particularly influenced by climate change, as temperatures in the country rises twice as high as the world average, according to the Swiss federal meteorology and climate.

Although nearly 50 peaks in Switzerland exceed 4,000 meters high, glaciers were expected to have a longer life than Austria, where the peaks reach 3,800 meters, according to Michael Zeb, director of the World Ice Monitoring Service (WGMS).

However, if carbon dioxide emissions are maintained at today’s levels, almost all Swiss glaciers – representing more than half of the volume of Alpine glaciers – are expected to have melted by the end of the century, Husos warns.

Since the 1970s, more than 1,100 Swiss glaciers have disappeared, according to Glamos.

Significant impact on water reserves

The gradual retreat of Alpine glaciers limits fresh water reserves in Europe. At the same time “It destabilizes the mountain, which can lead to events such as the collapse of rocks and ice. This caused the destruction of the village Blaven last May”explains Hus.

By the end of 2025, the volume of ice in Swiss glaciers is expected to reach 45.1 cubic kilometers, 30 cubic kilometers less than 2000. Their total surface is estimated at 755 square kilometers, down 30% in the same period.

In 2024, the second hottest June recorded in Switzerland led to the melting of snow even at high altitudes, while August scored a new wave of heat. However, this summer, the ice melting was only 15% higher than the average of the 2010-2020 season, the lowest price of the last four years.

According to Glamos, low temperatures in July, which brought fresh snow to altitudes above 2,500 meters, ‘They helped to avoid the worst’ this year.