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&body=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/oct/01/switzerland-glacier-loss-fossil-fuel-pollution-europe?CMP=share_btn_url) Share          (https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=theguardian.com) Prefer the Guardian on Google          Switzerland has lost almost one-fifth of its ice in just five years, research has found, in a dramatic reshaping of the Alpine country whose big white glaciers have been reduced to moonlike rock deserts, scientists say. Swiss glaciers shrank by 5.5% in the first eight months of 2026, according to an annual monitoring report, after a summer of scorching heatwaves that followed a winter with little snow. The reduction in ice volume falls just shy of the record set in 2022 and brings the total loss of glacier ice since 2021 to 19.4%.            (Glaciologist Matthias Huss in bright orange jacket, sunglasses, headband, pointing towards a mountain)   (switzerland-glacier-loss-fossil-fuel-pollution-europe.html#img-1)   View image in fullscreen       Glaciologist Matthias Huss records changes in the Scex Rouge glacier above Les Diablerets, western Switzerland. Photograph: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty  Matthias Huss, a glaciologist at ETH Zürich and lead author of (https://www.glamos.ch/en/#/A10g-05) the report , said many people do not realise how fast glaciers are retreating, or that just one generation ago some now-barren sites used to sit beneath hundreds of metres of ice. The scientists have not yet compiled a formal tally of lost glaciers this year but said they had witnessed the death of a number of small ones. “I visited one last week and it’s so impressive to stand in this moonlike landscape where there was a big layer of ice – an extensive glacier – just a few years ago,” said Huss. “And now it’s a rock desert where there’s some scattered blocks of old ice still lying around and melting on the hot rocks.” The report, a collaboration between the Swiss Glacier Monitoring Network and the Swiss Commission for Cryosphere Observation, found the mean thickness of individual glaciers fell by between 2.5 metres and 4 metres in 2026. Huss said scientists were increasingly seeing glaciers collapse from the inside – the result of internal streams beneath the ice that excavate caverns – rather than simply retreating from surface heat.             (Matthias Huss looks at the ice on the Rhône glacier in Obergoms, Switzerland.)   (switzerland-glacier-loss-fossil-fuel-pollution-europe.html#img-2)   View image in fullscreen       Matthias Huss looks at the ice on the Rhône glacier in Obergoms, Switzerland. Photograph: Pierre Albouy/Reuters  “You have huge holes like cheese in the middle of the ice that have collapsing roofs,” said Huss. “These are processes that tear the glaciers apart and make them retreat even faster.” Europe is warming twice as fast as the global average from the heat-trapping effects of fossil fuel pollution and the destruction of nature, with Alpine regions experiencing some of the most dramatic changes. Analysis published by MeteoSwiss on Tuesday found the summer half-year from April to September was the hottest and driest it had been since records began in 1864. In that time, humanity has filled the atmosphere with 1.8tn tons of carbon dioxide and heated the planet by about 1.4C. The heat this summer was worse than in 2022 but Swiss ice loss just missed the record-breaking levels set that year. The scientists attributed this to limited deposits of Saharan dust, which foul the snow and prevent it from reflecting sunlight, as well as slightly greater snow cover at the end of winter and more sunlight in the summer. (switzerland-glacier-loss-fossil-fuel-pollution-europe.html#EmailSignup-skip-link-11) skip past newsletter promotion     Free newsletter | Weekly    Sign up to This is Europe  The most pressing stories and debates for Europeans – from identity to economics to the environment  ()   Enter your email  ()   Sign up      after newsletter promotion         (Two mountaineers hiking on the Rhône Glacier, above Gletsch, in the Swiss Alps.)   (switzerland-glacier-loss-fossil-fuel-pollution-europe.html#img-3)   View image in fullscreen       Two mountaineers hiking on the Rhône Glacier, above Gletsch, in the Swiss Alps. Photograph: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty  Huss visited the former (https://www.bluewin.ch/en/news/switzerland/there-s-nothing-left-of-the-griess-glacier-li.3607111) Plattalvafirn , or Griess glacier, in September, which used to cover a mountain flank but lost 99% of its area in just 20 years. The glacier was the subject of some of the most detailed monitoring in the world in the 1950s and Huss worked with its data when he was a PhD student. “What was different at that time, is that the rates of retreat were still kind of at a normal level,” said Huss. “What we are seeing now is a complete explosion of these melt rates, leading to the disintegration of glaciers. They’re really just falling apart.”         Explore more on these topics (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/glaciers) Glaciers  (https://www.theguardian.com/world/switzerland) Switzerland  (https://www.theguardian.com/world/europe-news) Europe  (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/ice) Ice  (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/fossil-fuels) Fossil fuels  (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-crisis) Climate crisis  (https://www.theguardian.com/science/scienceofclimatechange) Climate science  (https://www.theguardian.com/tone/news) news    (mailto:?subject=‘Explosion of melt rates’: 20% of Swiss glaciers lost in five years &body=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/oct/01/switzerland-glacier-loss-fossil-fuel-pollution-europe?CMP=share_btn_url) Share     (https://syndication.theguardian.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fenvironment%2F2026%2Foct%2F01%2Fswitzerland-glacier-loss-fossil-fuel-pollution-europe&type=article&internalpagecode=environment/2026/oct/01/switzerland-glacier-loss-fossil-fuel-pollution-europe) (Reuse this content) Reuse this content                  More on this story                      More on this story                     (https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2026/sep/22/the-patagonia-town-where-nepals-deadly-glacier-flood-could-be-repeated-and-what-theyve-learned)    ()      The Patagonia town where Nepal’s deadly glacier flood could be repeated – and what they’ve learned   (Tuesday, September 22, 2026 at 09:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time) 22 Sept 2026           (https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/sep/17/climate-crisis-likely-behind-deadly-nepal-tibet-floods)    ()      Climate crisis probably weakened glacier that caused devastating Nepal-Tibet floods, first study finds   (Wednesday, September 16, 2026 at 07:01 PM Eastern Daylight Time) 16 Sept 2026           (https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/picture/2026/sep/02/nepal-floods-glacier-collapsed-but-now-is-not-the-time-to-talk-about-climate-change-apparently)    ()      A glacier collapsed in Nepal but this is not the time to talk about climate change   (Wednesday, September 2, 2026 at 02:44 AM Eastern Daylight Time) 2 Sept 2026  (https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/picture/2026/sep/02/nepal-floods-glacier-collapsed-but-now-is-not-the-time-to-talk-about-climate-change-apparently#comments)    … … comments            (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/27/hiker-backpack-reunited-austria-melting-glacier)    ()      Hiker reunited with backpack 60 years after he fell into a glacier in Austria   (Thursday, August 27, 2026 at 10:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time) 27 Aug 2026           (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/27/what-caused-the-catastrophic-flash-flood-in-nepal-and-tibet-and-how-does-a-glacier-collapse)    ()      What caused the catastrophic flood in Nepal and Tibet – and how does a glacier collapse?   (Thursday, August 27, 2026 at 10:53 AM Eastern Daylight Time) 27 Aug 2026           (https://www.theguardian.com/news/gallery/2026/jul/27/scorched-ground-melting-glacier-monday-photos-of-the-day)    ()      Scorched ground and a melting glacier: Monday’s photos of the day   (Monday, July 27, 2026 at 11:33 AM Eastern Daylight Time) 27 Jul 2026           (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jul/10/ecological-grief)    ()      We know how to mourn other humans – but what about ecological grief?   (Friday, July 10, 2026 at 07:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time) 10 Jul 2026           (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jun/27/snow-and-ice-on-swiss-glaciers-melting-at-alarming-rate-amid-heatwave-expert-says)    ()      Snow and ice on Swiss glaciers melting at alarming rate amid heatwave, expert says   (Friday, June 26, 2026 at 10:50 PM Eastern Daylight Time) 27 Jun 2026                        Most viewed      Most viewed                                                               (https://www.theguardian.com/world) World  (https://www.theguardian.com/world/europe-news) Europe   (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news) US news  (https://www.theguardian.com/world/americas) Americas  (https://www.theguardian.com/world/asia) Asia  (https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news) Australia  (https://www.theguardian.com/world/middleeast) Middle East  (https://www.theguardian.com/world/africa) Africa  (https://www.theguardian.com/inequality) Inequality  (https://www.theguardian.com/global-development) Global development       (https://www.theguardian.com/) News  (https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree) Opinion  (https://www.theguardian.com/sport) Sport  (https://www.theguardian.com/culture) Culture  (https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle) Lifestyle    Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning (https://www.theguardian.com/info/2018/sep/17/guardian-us-morning-briefing-sign-up-to-stay-informed) Sign up for our email     (https://www.theguardian.com/info/about-guardian-us) About us  (https://manage.theguardian.com/help-centre) Help  (https://www.theguardian.com/info/complaints-and-corrections) Complaints & corrections  (https://www.theguardian.com/info/about-guardian-us/contact) Contact us  (https://www.theguardian.com/tips) Tip us off  (https://www.theguardian.com/securedrop) SecureDrop  (https://www.theguardian.com/info/privacy) Privacy policy  (https://www.theguardian.com/info/cookies) Cookie policy  (https://uploads.guim.co.uk/2026/07/22/STL_Global_Tax_Strategy_for_the_year_to_31_March_2027.pdf) Tax strategy  (https://www.theguardian.com/help/terms-of-service) Terms & conditions   (https://www.theguardian.com/index/subjects/a) All topics  (https://www.theguardian.com/index/contributors) All writers  (https://www.theguardian.com/email-newsletters?INTCMP=DOTCOM_FOOTER_NEWSLETTER_US) Newsletters  (https://theguardian.newspapers.com) Digital newspaper archive  (https://bsky.app/profile/us.theguardian.com) Bluesky  (https://www.facebook.com/theguardian) Facebook  (https://www.instagram.com/guardian) Instagram  (https://www.linkedin.com/company/theguardian) LinkedIn  (https://www.threads.com/@guardian_us) Threads  (https://www.tiktok.com/@guardian) TikTok  (https://www.youtube.com/user/TheGuardian) YouTube   (https://usadvertising.theguardian.com) Advertise with us  (https://www.theguardian.com/guardian-labs-us) Guardian Labs  (https://jobs.theguardian.com) Search jobs  (https://workwithus.theguardian.com/) Work with us  (https://www.theguardian.com/help/accessibility-help) Accessibility settings         (switzerland-glacier-loss-fossil-fuel-pollution-europe.html#top) Back to top      © 2026Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. 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