Swiss glaciers 1850–2100

Vadrec da la Bondasca

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 0.977km² Area in 2016 · ±0% compared with 2016
Area 20160.98km²165th largest
Elevation2,334–3,263mmedian 2,715 m
Length2.2kmfaces north
1850 ice body2.3km²now 3 glaciers
Thinning 1991–2022−19maverage surface lowering
Ice left in 210018%of 2020 volume, SSP2-4.5

Vadrec da la Bondasca is one of 1,400 glaciers in Switzerland, covering 0.98 km² in the canton of Graubünden. Its ice spans 2,334 to 3,263 m and faces north. Its meltwater drains to the Po and on to the Adriatic. In 1850 it was part of a larger ice body of 2.3 km², which has since split into 3 glaciers covering 1.1 km² in 2016 (−51%). Between 1991 and 2022 its surface dropped by 19 m on average. With strong climate protection (SSP1-2.6), about 43% of its 2020 ice would remain in 2100. With very high emissions (SSP5-8.5) it would be gone around 2083. Its meltwater peaked around 2020.

Future

What remains in 2100

SSP1-2.6 · low emissions43%55% left in 2050
SSP2-4.5 · intermediate emissions18%50% left in 2050
SSP3-7.0 · high emissions1%48% left in 2050
SSP5-8.5 · very high emissionsGoneIce gone around 2083
SSP1-2.6SSP2-4.5SSP3-7.0SSP5-8.5
0%25%50%75%100%2020204020602080210043%18%1%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

02.55.07.520102030205020702090
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 1991

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

−20 m−15 m−10 m−5 m0 m199520002005201020152020−19 m
GLAMOS Swiss Glacier Volume Change, release 2025.
Profile

Facts

Area over time

18502.252 km²19311.886 km²19731.872 km²20160.977 km²2050 · SSP2-4.50.599 km²2100 · SSP2-4.50.258 km²

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

SGI id
C85-06
Canton
Graubünden
River
Po → Adriatic
Basin
Mera
Location
46.2960° N, 9.6150° E · swisstopo map
Elevation
2,334–3,263 m, median 2,715 m
Slope, aspect
27°, north
Debris cover
0.06 km² (6% of the area)
Inventory image
2015
Ice volume (model)
≈ 0.040 km³ in 2020 (OGGM)
RGI ids
RGI60-11.02293, RGI60-11.02316, RGI60-11.02338, RGI60-11.02348
In 1850 joined with
Vadrec dal Cengal E, Unnamed glacier C85-12
Nearby

More in the Mera 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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