{
  "id": 11065001,
  "title": "'Catastrophic': Swiss glaciers lose fifth of mass in five years",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/30/catastrophic-swiss-glaciers-lose-fifth-of-mass-in-five-years",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-09-30T23:59:34.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Gulf News",
    "slug": "gulf-news",
    "url": "https://gulfnews.com/world/europe/catastrophic-swiss-glaciers-lose-fifth-of-mass-in-five-years-1.500694200"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Switzerland's glaciers have witnessed a significant loss of nearly 20% of their mass over a five-year period, according to experts who presented their findings recently. The most recent year, 2026, recorded the second-largest melt on record, with an astonishing 5.5% of glacier volume melting away. Matthias Huss, the chief of Glacier Monitoring in Switzerland (GLAMOS), described the year as \"catastrophic.\" The melting glaciers have exposed more than three meters of ice at the Scex Rouge glacier, perched at an altitude of nearly 3,000 meters. The situation is expected to worsen, with Huss predicting that the glacier might not survive the next 10 to 15 years.\n\nThe Global Meteorological Organisation (WMO) had previously warned in 2021 that glacier retreat rates are accelerating, with many glaciers suffering intense mass losses due to exceptionally warm and dry conditions. Since the late 1800s, the Gorner Glacier has retreated by nearly 3 kilometers. From 2022 to 2026, the melt rate at Switzerland's glaciers was more than twice as high as any previously monitored five-year period, with an ice volume loss of almost 20% since 2021.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 4,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "NPR",
        "title": "Swiss glaciers suffer another year of record ice loss",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/30/swiss-glaciers-suffer-another-year-of-record-ice-loss",
        "published": "2026-09-30T23:00:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "BBC World",
        "title": "Swiss glaciers suffer 'disastrous' year of ice loss, threatening water supplies",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/01/swiss-glaciers-suffer-disastrous-year-of-ice-loss-threatening-water",
        "published": "2026-10-01T00:08:23.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Channel News Asia",
        "title": "Swiss glaciers lose more than 5% of ice after record heatwave",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/01/swiss-glaciers-lose-more-than-5-of-ice-after-record-heatwave",
        "published": "2026-10-01T01:36:21.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}