Swiss Glaciers Suffer 'Devastating' Year Of Ice Loss

GENEVA, Oct 1 (Bernama-dpa) -- The glaciers in the Swiss Alps have had a "devastating" year due to intense heat and low snowfall, scientists said on Thursday.

Glacier Monitoring in Switzerland (GLAMOS) said glacier volume decreased this year by more than five per cent, the second-biggest loss of volume since 1950.

“Intense heatwaves from May to September, combined with a winter with little snow, led to another devastating year for the glaciers,” GLAMOS said.

In the past five years, the volume of ice in Switzerland had fallen by almost 20 per cent, the organisation said.

Snow depths during the winter season were far below the long-term average due to low precipitation, GLAMOS said.

Every month from May to September was marked by dry conditions and at least one heatwave.

During these months, the freezing level was above 4,000 metres on a record 76 days – more than twice the average.

Protective snow cover on the glaciers partly disappeared during the heatwaves in June, it said.

By September, no snow remained even at 3,500 metres above sea level.

“Alpine glaciers have no chance of surviving in the long term under such conditions,” GLAMOS said.

Between July and September, the glaciers lost a total of around 2,200 billion litres of water, more than four times the annual drinking water consumption of all Swiss households.

-- BERNAMA-dpa