Swiss glaciers 1850–2100

Vadret Üertsch Ost

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 0.102km² Area in 2016 · ±0% compared with 2016
Area 20160.10km²667th largest
Elevation2,577–2,829mmedian 2,710 m
Length0.6kmfaces north
Area since 1850−66%0.30 km² in 1850
Tongue since 1920−50m6 measurements
Thinning 1962–2022−8maverage surface lowering
Ice left in 21000%of 2020 volume, SSP2-4.5

Vadret Üertsch Ost is one of 1,400 glaciers in Switzerland, covering 0.10 km² in the canton of Graubünden. Its ice spans 2,577 to 2,829 m and faces north. Its meltwater drains to the Rhine and on to the North Sea. In 1850, at the end of the Little Ice Age, it covered 0.30 km²; by 2016 it had lost 66% of that area. Its tongue has been measured 6 times since 1920. In total it has retreated 50 m, about 6.2 m a year. Between 1962 and 2022 its surface dropped by 8 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 2056. Its meltwater is projected to peak around 2038.

Future

What remains in 2100

SSP1-2.6 · low emissionsGoneIce gone around 2068
SSP2-4.5 · intermediate emissionsGoneIce gone around 2061
SSP3-7.0 · high emissionsGoneIce gone around 2061
SSP5-8.5 · very high emissionsGoneIce gone around 2056
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

00.20.50.820102030205020702090
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 1920

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

−50 m−40 m−30 m−20 m−10 m0 m19201925−50 m
GLAMOS Swiss Glacier Length Change, release 2025.

Thinning since 1962

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 m197019801990200020102020−8 m
GLAMOS Swiss Glacier Volume Change, release 2025.
Profile

Facts

Area over time

18500.296 km²19310.188 km²19730.104 km²20160.102 km²2050 · SSP2-4.50.073 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
A12e-07
Canton
Graubünden
River
Rhine → North Sea
Basin
Alpine Rhine
Location
46.6000° N, 9.8420° E · swisstopo map
Elevation
2,577–2,829 m, median 2,710 m
Slope, aspect
27°, north
Debris cover
0.09 km² (90% of the area)
Inventory image
2015
Ice volume (model)
≈ 0.001 km³ in 2020 (OGGM)
RGI ids
RGI60-11.01350
Nearby

More in the Alpine Rhine 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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