Why it matters

Glaciers feed rivers, power stations and tourism, hold mountains together and keep a record of the past. Here is what changes as they go.

Glaciers are Europe’s summer water tower. The tank is running dry.

Around 60% of Swiss electricity comes from water. Most reservoirs are fed from glaciated catchments.

Glaciers are part of the Swiss self-image, and of its economy.

Less ice means new lakes, unstable slopes and thawing rock.

Glacier retreat destroys habitats and creates new ones.

Glaciers are archives. Melting opens them, and then erases them.

Swiss ice alone would raise the oceans by about a tenth of a millimetre. Glaciers worldwide are another story.

Every tenth of a degree matters. Fleece blankets do not.