Swiss glacier loss report Plattalvafirn disappears

Oct 1

Tagesschau reports the Great Aletsch Glacier's largest annual shrinkage since measurements began over a century ago and a current assessment saying nearly 20% of Swiss glacier ice has melted in five years. Stefanie Dodt visits Plattalvafirn in the Glarus Alps with glaciologist Matthias Huss. The report describes it as one of about 50 Swiss glaciers that did not survive this hot summer, formerly about 100 hectares with ice up to 70 metres thick. Huss says its remaining scattered ice no longer constitutes a glacier and it will be omitted from the next inventory. He explains the loss of meltwater supplies during dry, hot periods for irrigation, river transport and nuclear-plant cooling. Barbara Schaffner advocates reservoirs that retain heavy rain and release water to streams during heat. The closing estimate that Switzerland could be largely ice-free by 2100 is conditional on continued warming.

A current Swiss glacier assessment aired by Tagesschau reports nearly 20% of ice lost over five years and record annual shrinkage of the Great Aletsch Glacier. The October 1 GLAMOS/SCNAT release is illustrated with a field report on Plattalvafirn's disappearance, Huss's hydrological explanation and Schaffner's reservoir proposal. The broadcast's estimate of about 50 glacier disappearances and its conditional largely ice-free-by-2100 projection remain attributed; no enacted reservoir policy is reported. CCTV's October 2 report gives the October 2025–September 2026 loss as 5.5%, calls it second only to 5.9% in 2021–2022 and gives nearly 20% loss over 2022–2026. Its periods and comparative figures remain attributed alongside Tagesschau's five-year formulation. The short CCTV report does not specifically cover Plattalvafirn's disappearance or establish an enacted reservoir response.