Swiss glaciers 1850–2100

Chline Gletscher (Pfäfers)

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 0.226km² Area in 2016 · ±0% compared with 2016
Area 20160.23km²446th largest
Elevation2,475–2,780mmedian 2,582 m
Length0.7kmfaces east
Area since 1850−55%0.51 km² in 1850
Tongue since 1895−552m108 measurements
Thinning 1973–2022−20maverage surface lowering
Ice left in 21000%of 2020 volume, SSP2-4.5

Chline Gletscher (Pfäfers) is one of 1,400 glaciers in Switzerland, covering 0.23 km² in the canton of St. Gallen. Its ice spans 2,475 to 2,780 m and faces east. Its meltwater drains to the Rhine and on to the North Sea. In 1850, at the end of the Little Ice Age, it covered 0.51 km²; by 2016 it had lost 55% of that area. Its tongue has been measured 108 times since 1895. In total it has retreated 552 m, about 4.3 m a year. Between 1973 and 2022 its surface dropped by 20 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 2035. Its meltwater peaked around 2016.

Future

What remains in 2100

SSP1-2.6 · low emissionsGoneIce gone around 2038
SSP2-4.5 · intermediate emissionsGoneIce gone around 2031
SSP3-7.0 · high emissionsGoneIce gone around 2035
SSP5-8.5 · very high emissionsGoneIce gone around 2035
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

00.51.01.52.020102030205020702090
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

Length change since 1895

Position of the glacier tongue, measured in the field almost every year. Hover for each measurement.

−600 m−400 m−200 m0 m200 m1900192019401960198020002020−552 m
GLAMOS Swiss Glacier Length Change, release 2025.

Thinning since 1973

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 m19801990200020102020−20 m
GLAMOS Swiss Glacier Volume Change, release 2025.
Profile

Facts

Area over time

18500.507 km²19310.448 km²19730.383 km²20160.226 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
A15b-05
Canton
St. Gallen
River
Rhine → North Sea
Basin
Alpine Rhine
Location
46.9240° N, 9.2580° E · swisstopo map
Elevation
2,475–2,780 m, median 2,582 m
Slope, aspect
23°, east
Debris cover
0.03 km² (14% of the area)
Inventory image
2014
Ice volume (model)
≈ 0.002 km³ in 2020 (OGGM)
RGI ids
RGI60-11.00685
Nearby

More in the Alpine Rhine 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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