Swiss glaciers 1850–2100

Unnamed glacier B36-59

IceIce lost since 1850This glacier

Past extents come from the Swiss Glacier Inventories of 1850, 1931, 1973 and 2016. Future extents are illustrative: each glacier’s projected area (OGGM, median of CMIP6 climate models) is removed from its lowest ice upward. About the scenarios.

Inventory 0.637km² Area in 2016 · ±0% compared with 2016
Area 20160.64km²218th largest
Elevation2,796–3,587mmedian 3,154 m
Length1.0kmfaces west
1850 ice body26.6km²now 7 glaciers
Thinning 1985–2023−24maverage surface lowering
Ice left in 21000%of 2020 volume, SSP2-4.5

Unnamed glacier B36-59 is one of 1,400 glaciers in Switzerland, covering 0.64 km² in the canton of Valais. Its ice spans 2,796 to 3,587 m and faces west. Its meltwater drains to the Rhône and on to the Mediterranean. In 1850 it was part of a larger ice body of 26.6 km², which has since split into 7 glaciers covering 18.5 km² in 2016 (−31%). Between 1985 and 2023 its surface dropped by 24 m on average. With strong climate protection (SSP1-2.6), about 0% of its 2020 ice would remain in 2100. With very high emissions (SSP5-8.5) it would be gone around 2025. Its meltwater peaked around 2014.

Future

What remains in 2100

SSP1-2.6 · low emissionsGoneIce gone around 2026
SSP2-4.5 · intermediate emissionsGoneIce gone around 2024
SSP3-7.0 · high emissionsGoneIce gone around 2027
SSP5-8.5 · very high emissionsGoneIce gone around 2025
SSP1-2.6SSP2-4.5SSP3-7.0SSP5-8.5
0%25%50%75%100%202020402060208021000%0%0%0%
Ice volume as a share of 2020, median of 14 climate models; shaded: middle two-thirds of models. OGGM v1.6.

Meltwater

Million m³ of water per year, 11-year mean

00.10.10.10.220102030205020702090
Water leaving the glacier area each year: ice melt, snowmelt and rain. It rises while the glacier melts faster, then falls as the ice runs out: “peak water”.
Measured

The record

Thinning since 1985

Average change in surface height, from comparing elevation models made from maps, aerial images and laser scans.

−25 m−20 m−15 m−10 m−5 m0 m1990200020102020−24 m
GLAMOS Swiss Glacier Volume Change, release 2025.
Profile

Facts

Area over time

185026.560 km²193123.510 km²197321.616 km²20160.637 km²2050 · SSP2-4.50.000 km²2100 · SSP2-4.50.000 km²

Past areas are the ice body this glacier belonged to at the time. Projections: OGGM median, SSP2-4.5.

SGI id
B36-59
Canton
Valais
River
Rhône → Mediterranean
Basin
Lötschental–Aletsch
Location
46.4394° N, 8.0017° E · swisstopo map
Elevation
2,796–3,587 m, median 3,154 m
Slope, aspect
30°, west
Debris cover
0.10 km² (16% of the area)
Inventory image
2017
Ice volume (model)
≈ 0.000 km³ in 2020 (OGGM)
RGI ids
RGI60-11.01911
In 1850 joined with
Oberaletschgletscher, Beichspitze E, Beichgrat SE 1, Beichgrat SE 2, Oberaletschfirn, Gross Fusshorn NW
Nearby

More in the Lötschental–Aletsch basin

All glaciers in this basin →

Sources

Sources

  1. Linsbauer et al. (2021). The new Swiss Glacier Inventory SGI2016. Frontiers in Earth Science 9. doi.org/10.3389/feart.2021.704189
  2. Mannerfelt et al. (2022). Halving of Swiss glacier volume since 1931 observed from terrestrial image photogrammetry. The Cryosphere 16. doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3249-2022
  3. GLAMOS – Glacier Monitoring Switzerland. www.glamos.ch
  4. Zekollari et al. (2024). Twenty-first century global glacier evolution under CMIP6 scenarios and the role of glacier-specific observations. The Cryosphere 18 (OGGM v1.6 projections). tc.copernicus.org/articles/18/5045/2024/

Relief: swisstopo swissALTIRegio. 1850 and 1973 outlines: Maisch et al. (2000), Müller et al. (1976), Paul (2004). Length, mass balance and volume change: GLAMOS releases 2025. All sources and methods.

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