Glaciers & permafrost

How melting glaciers are redrawing Switzerland’s maps

Glacier retreat is also posing a challenge for cartographers.

This content was published on Oct 6, 2026 Switzerland’s glaciers lost vast amounts of ice in this summer’s baking heat. The changes are increasingly visible on the country’s maps.

Artefacts discovered during work on the Brunnifirn are part of the ‘Ice Treasure Trove’ exhibition at the Lucerne Glacier Garden.

Glaciers & permafrost

Switzerland’s melting glaciers reveal ancient secrets

This content was published on Oct 2, 2026 As Switzerland's glaciers shrink, they are revealing an unexpected wealth of archaeological treasures.

Glaciers & permafrost

A fifth of Swiss Alpine ice has vanished in five years

This content was published on Oct 1, 2026 In 2026 summer heatwaves and low snowfall in winter led to the disappearance of dozens of Swiss glaciers.

Aerial view of the Swiss mountain village of Blatten, which was engulfed by a massive landslide following a glacier collapse on 28 May 2025.

Glaciers & permafrost

Fuel threat lingers beneath buried Swiss mountain village

This content was published on Sep 25, 2026 Experts have identified a new environmental threat in Blatten, where large amounts of heating oil and fuel are believed to be buried beneath debris from last year’s glacier collapse.

Melting glacier in Uri reveals aeroplane that crashed in 1963

Melting Swiss glacier reveals debris from 1963 plane crash

This content was published on Sep 10, 2026 Melting ice on Switzerland’s Hüfifirn Glacier exposed likely wreckage from a 1963 plane crash.

Glaciers & permafrost

Swiss Rhône Glacier ice cave ordered closed

This content was published on Sep 5, 2026 Valais authorities have rejected an appeal by the operator of the Rhône Glacier ice cave against an order that it restore the site and cease tourist operations.

NGO plans to protect glaciers with woollen blankets

Climate adaptation

Swiss NGO uses woollen blankets to reduce glacier melt

This content was published on Sep 2, 2026 Swiss NGO tests sheep’s wool blankets to curb glacier melt, showing promise as a biodegradable alternative.

Elio Biadici in front of his house in Piano di Peccia, in the Maggia Valley, southern Switzerland on July, 3, 2024. Heavy thunderstorms triggered devastating debris flows and damage in the region in late June 2024.

Climate adaptation

Why Alpine debris flows are becoming more intense and unpredictable

This content was published on Aug 27, 2026 Swissinfo spoke to Markus Stoffel, head of the new Chair of Mountain Hazard Research at the University of Geneva, about how the climate crisis is reshaping debris flows and other Alpine hazards.

A view of the summit of the Weisshorn mountain shrouded in clouds, with the Weisshorn East hanging glacier to the left, above the Bisgletscher, August 25, 2026, in canton Valais.

Glaciers & permafrost

Swiss experts downplay risk from unstable glacier

This content was published on Aug 26, 2026 Local officials and experts stress that the Weisshorn glacier is being closely monitored and poses no immediate threat to residents.

Tourists watch the ice melt in front of the tongue of the Rhone Glacier in southern Switzerland on July 16, 2026.

Glaciers & permafrost

‘We will miss glacier meltwater,’ warns Swiss scientist

This content was published on Aug 14, 2026 The disappearance of glacier meltwater will only deepen future droughts, warns Swiss climatologist Erich Fischer.

Glaciers & permafrost

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Glaciers & permafrost

More

How melting glaciers are redrawing Switzerland’s maps

More

Switzerland’s melting glaciers reveal ancient secrets

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A fifth of Swiss Alpine ice has vanished in five years

More

Fuel threat lingers beneath buried Swiss mountain village

More

Melting Swiss glacier reveals debris from 1963 plane crash

More

Swiss Rhône Glacier ice cave ordered closed

More

Swiss NGO uses woollen blankets to reduce glacier melt

More

Why Alpine debris flows are becoming more intense and unpredictable

More

Swiss experts downplay risk from unstable glacier

More

‘We will miss glacier meltwater,’ warns Swiss scientist

Popular Stories

Most Discussed