As a record-breaking heatwave continues to grip Europe, observations indicate that the snowpack that accumulated in the Swiss Alps last winter has nearly melted away.
According to AFP and Swiss broadcaster SRF on June 27 (local time), GLAMOS, a glacier monitoring team at ETH Zurich, estimates that the snowpack formed in the Swiss Alps last winter will be completely melted by June 29.
This marks the second-earliest date in the 21st century.
The earliest date for net glacier loss since 2000 was recorded on June 26, 2022.
On average, this occurs in mid-August.
Matthias Huss, head of GLAMOS, analyzed that glaciers are melting rapidly due to another record-breaking heatwave, which arrived just one month after the previous one last month.
Researchers also attributed the rapid disappearance of the glaciers to low snowfall during the past winter.
When snow, which has a higher reflectivity than ice, covers a glacier, it acts as a protective layer for the ice beneath.
The research team calculated that the meltwater flowing from the glaciers is enough to fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool every six seconds.
Huss reported that the Rhone Glacier in western Switzerland, which he visited recently, had melted by 1 meter in just ten days.
According to GLAMOS, 38 percent of Alpine glaciers have disappeared between 2000 and 2024.
"If warming continues at the same rate as in recent decades, only a few pieces of ice will remain by 2100," said Huss.
As the heatwave, which began primarily in France and the United Kingdom, moved into Central Europe, Switzerland has also come under its direct influence.
The previous day, various locations across Switzerland broke all-time temperature records, including Basel (38.8°C / 102°F), Buchs (37.8°C / 100°F), Wynau (37.3°C / 99°F), and Koppigen (37.0°C / 99°F).
The meteorological agency forecasted that temperatures would climb near 40°C (104°F) in most parts of the country today, with Basel reaching 39°C (102°F) and Geneva 38°C (100°F).
(Photo: Yonhap News)