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Snow, glaciers and permafrost are of great importance for Switzerland. Their changes are documented by detailed measurements. This web portal shows and explains selected long-term measurement series of the cryosphere.more

Image: NASA Earth Observatory, Jesse Allen and Robert Simmonmore

Future and effects

The effects of glacial melting are felt from the mountains to the Swiss Plateau and on to the ocean.
The effects of glacial melting are felt from the mountains to the Swiss Plateau and on to the ocean.Image: Universität Zürich, ZI, MELS/SIVIC, T. von Grebel
The effects of glacial melting are felt from the mountains to the Swiss Plateau and on to the ocean.
The effects of glacial melting are felt from the mountains to the Swiss Plateau and on to the ocean.Image: Universität Zürich, ZI, MELS/SIVIC, T. von Grebel

Swiss glaciers are undergoing rapid change. Since 2000, they have lost almost 40 % of their volume, and in 2022 and 2023 alone, ten per cent of all glacier ice disappeared. The decline will continue, with far-reaching consequences for the landscape, nature and society.

Reduction of the Tschierva Glacier in the Canton of the Grisons (Graubünden) between 1935 and 2022.
Reduction of the Tschierva Glacier in the Canton of the Grisons (Graubünden) between 1935 and 2022.
Reduction of the Tschierva Glacier in the Canton of the Grisons (Graubünden) between 1935 and 2022.Image: swisstopo, VAW-ETH Zürich
Image: swisstopo, VAW-ETH Zürich

Changes to the landscape


The retreat of the glaciers is fundamentally changing the Alpine landscape. Where once big ice flows dominated, new rock and scree landscapes and glacial lakes are emerging. These changes can create new tourist attractions, but also pose challenges for alpinism and the protection of infrastructure.

Water balance and energy supply

Glaciers store water in winter and release it in summer - a decisive factor for water supply and hydropower generation. While more meltwater will initially be available in the coming decades, water shortages and greater seasonal fluctuations are to be expected in the long term. Rivers such as the Rhine and the Rhone, which rely heavily on glacier melt in summer, could carry significantly less water in dry periods.

Change of ice volume in all Swiss glaciers between 2000 and 2024 (above). Relative change in the volume of ice from year to year (below).
Change of ice volume in all Swiss glaciers between 2000 and 2024 (above). Relative change in the volume of ice from year to year (below).Image: GLAMOS
Change of ice volume in all Swiss glaciers between 2000 and 2024 (above). Relative change in the volume of ice from year to year (below).
Change of ice volume in all Swiss glaciers between 2000 and 2024 (above). Relative change in the volume of ice from year to year (below).Image: GLAMOS

Effects of glacial melting

The melting of glaciers is contributing to rising sea levels - albeit to a much lesser extent compared to the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets. However, shrinking glaciers worldwide will put increasing pressure on coastal regions and force millions of people to relocate.

  • Landscape and tourism: Glaciers and white peaks are part of the image of the Alps today and attract tourists from all over the world. They are regarded as an expression of homeland by many people in Switzerland. Should the glaciers disappear, destinations, which are known all over the world, would need to present themselves in a different light. The challenge is to preserve glaciers as much as possible, to maintain an unmistakable landscape despite the change, and to use it for touristic purposes.
  • Natural hazards: Global warming destabilizes rock faces and slopes which were previously supported by glaciers or a frozen ground (known as perma- frost). This increases the risk of rockfalls or even landslides. Close observation of these changes will be necessary in future to ensure that warnings and protection can be provided in a timely manner in the event of an emergency.
  • Water balance: Glaciers store water in winter and release it in summer, thus ensuring the water balance. Melting of glacial ice first releases more water. However, if the reserves are exhausted, the storage effect of the ice is not available. The water shortage will increase, particularly in hot and dry summer periods.
  • Hydropower: Hydropower is crucially important for the power supply in Switzerland Almost every reservoir in the country obtains its water from glaciated regions. These lakes can be filled through precipitation in future. Glacier shrinkage, however, means that the water will probably flow in spring rather than midsummer, reducing the water volume in the long term.
  • Rising sea level: Melting of Swiss glaciers contributes in a small way to the rising sea level. However, glaciers are retreating all over the world, and these will release copious amounts of water in the coming decades. Depending on the climate scenario, the sea level could rise by up to 0.5 to 1 metre by the year 2100 and, in a worst case situation, up to as much as 5 metres by the year 2300.5 The rise in sea levels will be dominated in the long term by the melting of the ice sheet in Greenland and the Antarctic.
  • Landscape and tourism: Glaciers and white peaks are part of the image of the Alps today and attract tourists from all over the world. They are regarded as an expression of homeland by many people in Switzerland. Should the glaciers disappear, destinations, which are known all over the world, would need to present themselves in a different light. The challenge is to preserve glaciers as much as possible, to maintain an unmistakable landscape despite the change, and to use it for touristic purposes.Image: Universität Zürich, ZI, MELS/SIVIC, T. von Grebel1/5
  • Natural hazards: Global warming destabilizes rock faces and slopes which were previously supported by glaciers or a frozen ground (known as perma- frost). This increases the risk of rockfalls or even landslides. Close observation of these changes will be necessary in future to ensure that warnings and protection can be provided in a timely manner in the event of an emergency.Image: Universität Zürich, ZI, MELS/SIVIC, T. von Grebel2/5
  • Water balance: Glaciers store water in winter and release it in summer, thus ensuring the water balance. Melting of glacial ice first releases more water. However, if the reserves are exhausted, the storage effect of the ice is not available. The water shortage will increase, particularly in hot and dry summer periods.Image: Universität Zürich, ZI, MELS/SIVIC, T. von Grebel3/5
  • Hydropower: Hydropower is crucially important for the power supply in Switzerland Almost every reservoir in the country obtains its water from glaciated regions. These lakes can be filled through precipitation in future. Glacier shrinkage, however, means that the water will probably flow in spring rather than midsummer, reducing the water volume in the long term.Image: Universität Zürich, ZI, MELS/SIVIC, T. von Grebel4/5
  • Rising sea level: Melting of Swiss glaciers contributes in a small way to the rising sea level. However, glaciers are retreating all over the world, and these will release copious amounts of water in the coming decades. Depending on the climate scenario, the sea level could rise by up to 0.5 to 1 metre by the year 2100 and, in a worst case situation, up to as much as 5 metres by the year 2300.5 The rise in sea levels will be dominated in the long term by the melting of the ice sheet in Greenland and the Antarctic.Image: Universität Zürich, ZI, MELS/SIVIC, T. von Grebel5/5
  • Landscape and tourism: Glaciers and white peaks are part of the image of the Alps today and attract tourists from all over the world. They are regarded as an expression of homeland by many people in Switzerland. Should the glaciers disappear, destinations, which are known all over the world, would need to present themselves in a different light. The challenge is to preserve glaciers as much as possible, to maintain an unmistakable landscape despite the change, and to use it for touristic purposes.
  • Natural hazards: Global warming destabilizes rock faces and slopes which were previously supported by glaciers or a frozen ground (known as perma- frost). This increases the risk of rockfalls or even landslides. Close observation of these changes will be necessary in future to ensure that warnings and protection can be provided in a timely manner in the event of an emergency.
  • Water balance: Glaciers store water in winter and release it in summer, thus ensuring the water balance. Melting of glacial ice first releases more water. However, if the reserves are exhausted, the storage effect of the ice is not available. The water shortage will increase, particularly in hot and dry summer periods.
  • Hydropower: Hydropower is crucially important for the power supply in Switzerland Almost every reservoir in the country obtains its water from glaciated regions. These lakes can be filled through precipitation in future. Glacier shrinkage, however, means that the water will probably flow in spring rather than midsummer, reducing the water volume in the long term.
  • Rising sea level: Melting of Swiss glaciers contributes in a small way to the rising sea level. However, glaciers are retreating all over the world, and these will release copious amounts of water in the coming decades. Depending on the climate scenario, the sea level could rise by up to 0.5 to 1 metre by the year 2100 and, in a worst case situation, up to as much as 5 metres by the year 2300.5 The rise in sea levels will be dominated in the long term by the melting of the ice sheet in Greenland and the Antarctic.
Landscape and tourism: Glaciers and white peaks are part of the image of the Alps today and attract tourists from all over the world. They are regarded as an expression of homeland by many people in Switzerland. Should the glaciers disappear, destinations, which are known all over the world, would need to present themselves in a different light. The challenge is to preserve glaciers as much as possible, to maintain an unmistakable landscape despite the change, and to use it for touristic purposes.Image: Universität Zürich, ZI, MELS/SIVIC, T. von Grebel1/5
Covering a small part of the Rhône Glacier in 2019 with white cloths for localised reduction of melting. However, these measures were unable to prevent the retreat of the glacier tongue.
Covering a small part of the Rhône Glacier in 2019 with white cloths for localised reduction of melting. However, these measures were unable to prevent the retreat of the glacier tongue.
Covering a small part of the Rhône Glacier in 2019 with white cloths for localised reduction of melting. However, these measures were unable to prevent the retreat of the glacier tongue.Image: M. Huss
Image: M. Huss

Can technology save glaciers?

In connection with tourist infrastructure on glaciers, white sheets called geotextiles have been laid on the ice in Switzerland for about 20 years. This method can prevent 50-70% of local melting. However, it is expensive and limited to small areas of a few thousand square metres where there is an economic benefit.

Such measures are not enough to prevent the complete disappearance of entire glaciers or regions - they are only treating the symptoms. They also pollute the environment, for example with microplastics. The only effective measure to preserve glaciers in the long term is to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions.

Anticipated expansion of the Great Aletsch Glacier in 2100 in a scenario with strict global climate protection efforts (above) and a scenario without climate protection (below). The glacier tongue retreats considerably in both cases, revealing a deep valley with glacial lakes.
Anticipated expansion of the Great Aletsch Glacier in 2100 in a scenario with strict global climate protection efforts (above) and a scenario without climate protection (below). The glacier tongue retreats considerably in both cases, revealing a deep valley with glacial lakes.
Anticipated expansion of the Great Aletsch Glacier in 2100 in a scenario with strict global climate protection efforts (above) and a scenario without climate protection (below). The glacier tongue retreats considerably in both cases, revealing a deep valley with glacial lakes.Image: Tages-Anzeiger Interaktiv, VAW-ETHZ
Image: Tages-Anzeiger Interaktiv, VAW-ETHZ

The future of Swiss glaciers

Swiss glaciers are shrinking rapidly and react to the climate with a time lag: even if temperatures remained stable today, their ice volume would decrease by a third over the next 25 years. Without climate protection, almost all glaciers in the Alps could disappear by 2100; if global warming is limited to below two degrees, about a quarter of today's ice would remain. In particular, the Aletschgletscher could disappear completely in 75 years under a no-action scenario. Deep valleys with new glacial lakes would form in many places. However, effective climate change mitigation can preserve a significant proportion of glacier volume and slow sea level rise.

Swiss Commission for Cryosphere observation (SCC)
c/o Dr. Matthias Huss
ETH Zürich
D-BAUG
Versuchsanstalt für Wasser, Hydrologie und Glaziologie (VAW)
Hönggerbergring 26
8093 Zürich
Switzerland


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