Swiss glaciers continue to lose a lot of volume

“Above average” melting is the situation that will continue to affect Swiss glaciers in 2024.

In 2024, Swiss glaciers will lose around 2.5% of their volume. Despite a very snowy winter, the glaciers have melted in above-average proportions. The volume lost reached 1.2 cubic kilometers, the equivalent of Lake Biel.

The retreat of glacial tongues and their disintegration therefore continued unabated, the Swiss Commission for the Observation of the Cryosphere (CSC) of the Swiss Academy of Natural Sciences (SCNAT) said on Tuesday.

And this, despite a good winter:

After the large amounts of snow that fell at high altitudes in winter and the cool, rainy spring, scientists have long hoped for a respite for the glaciers, Matthias Huss, head of the Swiss Glaciological Survey Network (Glamos), told Keystone-ATS .

But the hot summer months gave the glaciers a hard time. In addition, dust from the Sahara, which colored the surface of the snow, accelerated the melting. In August 2024, Switzerland’s glaciers lost ice at a rate not seen since measurements began.

(sda/ats)

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