The Rhône Glacier in southern Switzerland has lost more than four metres of ice in a single month after successive heatwaves swept across Europe, highlighting the growing impact of rising temperatures on Alpine glaciers.
According to Switzerland's Glacier Monitoring Service (GLAMOS), the glacier has been melting at an average rate of around 10 centimetres a day since mid-June. Glaciologists say the combination of low winter snowfall and unusually high temperatures has left the ice exposed and vulnerable, raising concerns that 2026 could rival the record glacier losses recorded in 2022.
