Swiss glaciers 1850–2100

Glacier Supérieur des Aiguilles Rouges 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 0.786km² Area in 2016 · ±0% compared with 2016
Area 20160.79km²195th largest
Elevation2,963–3,415mmedian 3,207 m
Length1.3kmfaces east
Area since 1850−57%1.82 km² in 1850
Thinning 1985–2023−23maverage surface lowering
Ice left in 21000%of 2020 volume, SSP2-4.5

Glacier Supérieur des Aiguilles Rouges zentral is one of 1,400 glaciers in Switzerland, covering 0.79 km² in the canton of Valais. Its ice spans 2,963 to 3,415 m and faces east. Its meltwater drains to the Rhône and on to the Mediterranean. In 1850, at the end of the Little Ice Age, it covered 1.82 km²; by 2016 it had lost 57% of that area. Between 1985 and 2023 its surface dropped by 23 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 2045. Its meltwater peaked around 2020.

Future

What remains in 2100

SSP1-2.6 · low emissionsGoneIce gone around 2049
SSP2-4.5 · intermediate emissionsGoneIce gone around 2045
SSP3-7.0 · high emissionsGoneIce gone around 2048
SSP5-8.5 · very high emissionsGoneIce gone around 2045
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

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 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 m1990200020102020−23 m
GLAMOS Swiss Glacier Volume Change, release 2025.
Profile

Facts

Area over time

18501.819 km²19311.474 km²19731.227 km²20160.786 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
B73-24
Canton
Valais
River
Rhône → Mediterranean
Basin
Hérens & Nendaz
Location
46.0570° N, 7.4390° E · swisstopo map
Elevation
2,963–3,415 m, median 3,207 m
Slope, aspect
20°, east
Debris cover
0.08 km² (10% of the area)
Inventory image
2016
Ice volume (model)
≈ 0.022 km³ in 2020 (OGGM)
RGI ids
RGI60-11.02663, RGI60-11.02675
Nearby

More in the Hérens & Nendaz 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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