Swiss glaciers 1850–2100

Vadret Tiatscha

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 1.87km² Area in 2016 · ±0% compared with 2016
Area 20161.87km²90th largest
Elevation2,644–3,118mmedian 2,885 m
Length2.2kmfaces south
Area since 1850−36%2.91 km² in 1850
Tongue since 1850−1,874m85 measurements
Thinning 1991–2023−33maverage surface lowering
Ice left in 21000%of 2020 volume, SSP2-4.5

Vadret Tiatscha is the 90th-largest glacier in Switzerland, covering 1.87 km² in the canton of Graubünden. Its ice spans 2,644 to 3,118 m and faces south. Its meltwater drains to the Inn and on to the Black Sea. In 1850, at the end of the Little Ice Age, it covered 2.91 km²; by 2016 it had lost 36% of that area. Its tongue has been measured 85 times since 1850. In total it has retreated 1,874 m, about 10.8 m a year. Between 1991 and 2023 its surface dropped by 33 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 2036. Its meltwater peaked around 2021.

Future

What remains in 2100

SSP1-2.6 · low emissionsGoneIce gone around 2037
SSP2-4.5 · intermediate emissionsGoneIce gone around 2035
SSP3-7.0 · high emissionsGoneIce gone around 2036
SSP5-8.5 · very high emissionsGoneIce gone around 2036
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

024681020102030205020702090
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

Length change since 1850

Position of the glacier tongue, measured in the field almost every year. Hover for each measurement.

−2,000 m−1,500 m−1,000 m−500 m0 m18501875190019251950197520002025−1,874 m
GLAMOS Swiss Glacier Length Change, release 2025.

Thinning since 1991

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

−40 m−30 m−20 m−10 m0 m199520002005201020152020−33 m
GLAMOS Swiss Glacier Volume Change, release 2025.
Profile

Facts

Area over time

18502.91 km²19312.26 km²19732.12 km²20161.87 km²2050 · SSP2-4.50.00 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
E50-07
Canton
Graubünden
River
Inn → Black Sea
Basin
Inn
Location
46.8430° N, 10.0940° E · swisstopo map
Elevation
2,644–3,118 m, median 2,885 m
Slope, aspect
15°, south
Debris cover
0.04 km² (2% of the area)
Inventory image
2014
Ice volume (model)
≈ 0.042 km³ in 2020 (OGGM)
RGI ids
RGI60-11.00833
Nearby

More in the Inn 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.

← Larger: ParadiesgletscherSmaller: Vadret dal Tremoggia →