Switzerland Rhone Glacier has lost more than four metres of ice in just one month as successive heatwaves and low winter snowfall accelerate melting in the Alps.
According to Switzerland’s Glacier Monitoring Service (GLAMOS), the glacier has been melting at an average rate of around 10 centimetres per day since mid June. Scientists say unusually high temperatures in May, June and July, combined with below-average snowfall during winter, have left the glacier without its usual protective layer of snow.
Matthias Huss a glaciologist at ETH Zurich and head of GLAMOS said the glacier is being affected by melting both from above and below. Meltwater flowing beneath the ice has carved large cavities, weakening the glacier from within and contributing to collapses.
Measurements taken during recent monitoring visits show the scale of the loss. Huss said around 1.4 metres of ice disappeared in just two weeks, while more than four metres have been lost since mid-June.
The rapid melting is also changing the landscape around the glacier. Scientists expect the lower sections of the Rhône Glacier to disappear within the next five to 10 years if current melting rates continue. Ice is likely to remain mainly at higher elevations, where temperatures are lower and snowfall is greater.
Glaciologists warn that 2026 could become another exceptionally bad year for Swiss glaciers, potentially approaching the record losses recorded in 2022.
The Rhône Glacier rapid retreat highlights the growing vulnerability of Alpine ice to rising temperatures and increasingly frequent heatwaves. Scientists will continue monitoring the glacier throughout the summer to assess how much more ice could be lost.