Swiss glaciers 1850–2100

Glacier de la Tsessette 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 2.06km² Area in 2016 · ±0% compared with 2016
Area 20162.06km²81st largest
Elevation2,478–3,251mmedian 2,760 m
Length2.9kmfaces north-east
Area since 1850−34%3.11 km² in 1850
Thinning 1988–2024−24maverage surface lowering
Ice left in 21000%of 2020 volume, SSP2-4.5

Glacier de la Tsessette zentral is the 81st-largest glacier in Switzerland, covering 2.06 km² in the canton of Valais. Its ice spans 2,478 to 3,251 m and faces north-east. Its meltwater drains to the Rhône and on to the Mediterranean. In 1850, at the end of the Little Ice Age, it covered 3.11 km²; by 2016 it had lost 34% of that area. Between 1988 and 2024 its surface dropped by 24 m on average. With strong climate protection (SSP1-2.6), about 1% of its 2020 ice would remain in 2100. With very high emissions (SSP5-8.5) it would be gone around 2051. Its meltwater peaked around 2023.

Future

What remains in 2100

SSP1-2.6 · low emissions1%Ice gone around 2068
SSP2-4.5 · intermediate emissionsGoneIce gone around 2064
SSP3-7.0 · high emissionsGoneIce gone around 2059
SSP5-8.5 · very high emissionsGoneIce gone around 2051
SSP1-2.6SSP2-4.5SSP3-7.0SSP5-8.5
0%25%50%75%100%202020402060208021001%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

0258101220102030205020702090
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 1988

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

18503.11 km²19312.86 km²19732.46 km²20162.06 km²2050 · SSP2-4.50.21 km²2100 · SSP2-4.50.00 km²

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

SGI id
B82-41
Canton
Valais
River
Rhône → Mediterranean
Basin
Dranse
Location
45.9470° N, 7.3310° E · swisstopo map
Elevation
2,478–3,251 m, median 2,760 m
Slope, aspect
20°, north-east
Debris cover
1.62 km² (79% of the area)
Inventory image
2016
Ice volume (model)
≈ 0.055 km³ in 2020 (OGGM)
RGI ids
RGI60-11.02866, RGI60-11.02882
Nearby

More in the Dranse 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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