Swiss glaciers 1850–2100

Breitlouwenengletscher zentral

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 0.546km² Area in 2016 · ±0% compared with 2016
Area 20160.55km²244th largest
Elevation2,217–3,479mmedian 2,885 m
Length1.4kmfaces north-west
1850 ice body1.8km²now 2 glaciers
Thinning 1978–2024−21maverage surface lowering
Ice left in 21004%of 2020 volume, SSP2-4.5

Breitlouwenengletscher zentral is one of 1,400 glaciers in Switzerland, covering 0.55 km² in the canton of Bern. Its ice spans 2,217 to 3,479 m and faces north-west. Its meltwater drains to the Rhine and on to the North Sea. In 1850 it was part of a larger ice body of 1.8 km², which has since split into 2 glaciers covering 1.0 km² in 2016 (−44%). Between 1978 and 2024 its surface dropped by 21 m on average. With strong climate protection (SSP1-2.6), about 25% of its 2020 ice would remain in 2100. With very high emissions (SSP5-8.5) it would be gone around 2070. Its meltwater peaked around 2019.

Pictures

In pictures

Breitlouwenengletscher zentral in 2016.
Breitlouwenengletscher zentral in 2016. Bgvr · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Future

What remains in 2100

SSP1-2.6 · low emissions25%36% left in 2050
SSP2-4.5 · intermediate emissions4%32% left in 2050
SSP3-7.0 · high emissionsGoneIce gone around 2089
SSP5-8.5 · very high emissionsGoneIce gone around 2070
SSP1-2.6SSP2-4.5SSP3-7.0SSP5-8.5
0%25%50%75%100%2020204020602080210025%4%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

01.02.03.04.020102030205020702090
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 1978

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 m19801990200020102020−21 m
GLAMOS Swiss Glacier Volume Change, release 2025.
Profile

Facts

Area over time

18501.758 km²19311.942 km²19731.402 km²20160.546 km²2050 · SSP2-4.50.245 km²2100 · SSP2-4.50.049 km²

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

SGI id
A54m-13
Canton
Bern
River
Rhine → North Sea
Basin
Upper Aare
Location
46.5050° N, 7.9290° E · swisstopo map
Elevation
2,217–3,479 m, median 2,885 m
Slope, aspect
34°, north-west
Debris cover
0.09 km² (16% of the area)
Inventory image
2018
Ice volume (model)
≈ 0.012 km³ in 2020 (OGGM)
RGI ids
RGI60-11.01629
In 1850 joined with
Breitlouwenengletscher S
Nearby

More in the Upper Aare 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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