Snow Helps Slow Down Glacier Melting in Switzerland

In Switzerland, where glaciers have been melting quickly due to high temperatures and little snowfall in recent years, there’s finally some good news. The Swiss Glaciological Survey Network (GLAMOS) has found that heavy snowfall in the mountains this winter will likely reduce the melting of the alpine glaciers.

Covering the Swiss Alps with a Thick Blanket of Snow

GLAMOS recently released a report confirming that a thick layer of snow, almost breaking records, now covers the Swiss Alps and glaciers. This snow blanket comes just before the usual melting season in the summer. Among the 14 glaciers they measured, the amount of snow cover has increased significantly over the winter. It’s now between 12 and 60 percent higher than the average recorded between 2010 and 2020.

This increase in snow cover isn’t limited to a few glaciers; GLAMOS estimates that across all of Switzerland’s 1,400 glaciers, there is currently 31 percent more snow cover than usual. This is the second-highest amount since 2010. The heaviest snowfall was seen in Ticino and near ski resorts and glaciers in the Engadine Valley. Other mountainous areas like Vaud, Valais, and central Switzerland also received a lot of snow this winter.

Expectations for Glacier Size in 2024

Experts have noted that as more snow accumulates on the glaciers, they melt less. The snow acts like a shield for the glacier ice, protecting it from the sun’s heat. When the snow melts, it usually refreezes within the glacier, making it bigger. Therefore, GLAMOS predicts that the glaciers will shrink much less during the summer of 2024, especially compared to 2023 and 2022.

However, while this news is positive, it comes after a tough century for the Alps. A study from the government and ETH Zurich in 2022 revealed that Swiss glaciers have shrunk by more than half their size in the last 90 years. This is mainly because there has been little snowfall and more frequent and long-lasting heatwaves due to climate change.

Glaciology professor Daniel Farinotti has said that glacier retreat is happening faster than before. According to the report, 12 percent of Swiss glacial ice disappeared between 2016 and 2021 alone.