Switzerland's glaciers have lost more than 5% of their mass in a year
Switzerland’s glaciers have lost more than 5% of their mass this year, approaching the record high of 2022. Over the past five years, their total volume has decreased by almost 20%, the press service of the Swiss Higher Technical School (ETH) reported.
Switzerland’s glaciers have lost more than 5% of their mass this year, approaching the record high of 2022. Over the past five years, their total volume has decreased by almost 20%, the press service of the Swiss Higher Technical School (ETH) reported.
The average thickness of glaciers decreased by 2.5-4 meters, and in some areas the losses reached almost 10 meters. From July to September, the ice massifs gave up about 2.2 trillion liters of water – four times the annual water consumption of households in the country.
According to the GLAMOS project, the total mass of glaciers decreased by about 2.5 cubic kilometers. The most severely affected were Clariden, Grosser-Alecgletcher and the Rhone Glacier, and some small glaciers in the cantons of Valais and Glarus completely disappeared.
Scientists associate accelerated melting with abnormal heat and low snow winter. By September, the snow cover had disappeared in areas of the Alps below 3,500 meters, leaving the glaciers without protection from heat and sunlight.
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