Swiss glaciers 1850–2100

Firnalpelifirn E

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 0.299km² Area in 2016 · ±0% compared with 2016
Area 20160.30km²361st largest
Elevation2,429–2,850mmedian 2,704 m
Length0.8kmfaces north
Area since 1850−25%0.40 km² in 1850
Thinning 2010–2021−8maverage surface lowering
Ice left in 21000%of 2020 volume, SSP2-4.5

Firnalpelifirn E is one of 1,400 glaciers in Switzerland, covering 0.30 km² in the canton of Obwalden. Its ice spans 2,429 to 2,850 m and faces north. Its meltwater drains to the Rhine and on to the North Sea. In 1850, at the end of the Little Ice Age, it covered 0.40 km²; by 2016 it had lost 25% of that area. Between 2010 and 2021 its surface dropped by 8 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 2053. Its meltwater peaked around 2019.

Future

What remains in 2100

SSP1-2.6 · low emissionsGoneIce gone around 2059
SSP2-4.5 · intermediate emissionsGoneIce gone around 2057
SSP3-7.0 · high emissionsGoneIce gone around 2057
SSP5-8.5 · very high emissionsGoneIce gone around 2053
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

00.51.01.52.02.520102030205020702090
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 2010

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

−10 m−8 m−6 m−4 m−2 m0 m201020152020−8 m
GLAMOS Swiss Glacier Volume Change, release 2025.
Profile

Facts

Area over time

18500.397 km²19311.290 km²19730.352 km²20160.299 km²2050 · SSP2-4.50.031 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
A51h-23
Canton
Obwalden
River
Rhine → North Sea
Basin
Reuss
Location
46.7700° N, 8.4620° E · swisstopo map
Elevation
2,429–2,850 m, median 2,704 m
Slope, aspect
25°, north
Debris cover
none mapped
Inventory image
2016
Ice volume (model)
≈ 0.006 km³ in 2020 (OGGM)
RGI ids
RGI60-11.01054
Nearby

More in the Reuss 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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