Swiss glaciers 1850–2100

Unterer Theodulgletscher

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 9.63km² Area in 2016 · ±0% compared with 2016
Area 20169.63km²20th largest
Elevation2,542–4,172mmedian 3,432 m
Length6.6kmfaces north
1850 ice body65.5km²now 4 glaciers
Thinning 2015–2023−9maverage surface lowering
Ice left in 21000%of 2020 volume, SSP2-4.5

Unterer Theodulgletscher is the 20th-largest glacier in Switzerland, covering 9.63 km² in the canton of Valais. Its ice spans 2,542 to 4,172 m and faces north. Its meltwater drains to the Rhône and on to the Mediterranean. In 1850 it was part of a larger ice body of 65.5 km², which has since split into 4 glaciers covering 54.1 km² in 2016 (−17%). Between 2015 and 2023 its surface dropped by 9 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 2046. Its meltwater peaked around 2023.

Pictures

In pictures

Unterer Theodulgletscher in 2001.
Unterer Theodulgletscher in 2001. DidiWeidmann · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Future

What remains in 2100

SSP1-2.6 · low emissionsGoneIce gone around 2050
SSP2-4.5 · intermediate emissionsGoneIce gone around 2049
SSP3-7.0 · high emissionsGoneIce gone around 2048
SSP5-8.5 · very high emissionsGoneIce gone around 2046
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

00.20.50.81.01.220102030205020702090
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 2015

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 m20152020−9 m
GLAMOS Swiss Glacier Volume Change, release 2025.
Profile

Facts

Area over time

185065.55 km²193162.44 km²197357.77 km²20169.63 km²2050 · SSP2-4.50.65 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
B56-28
Canton
Valais
River
Rhône → Mediterranean
Basin
Vispa
Location
45.9297° N, 7.7294° E · swisstopo map
Elevation
2,542–4,172 m, median 3,432 m
Slope, aspect
19°, north
Debris cover
0.34 km² (4% of the area)
Inventory image
2016
Ice volume (model)
≈ 0.006 km³ in 2020 (OGGM)
RGI ids
RGI60-11.02895
In 1850 joined with
Gornergletscher, Monte Rosagletscher, Breithorngletscher (Zermatt)
Nearby

More in the Vispa 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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