How Melting Glaciers Are Redrawing Switzerland's Maps

(MENAFN- Swissinfo) Switzerland's glaciers lost vast amounts of ice in this summer's baking heat. The changes are increasingly visible on the country's maps. Select your language

Generated with artificial intelligence. Listening: How melting glaciers are redrawing Switzerland's maps This content was published on October 6, 2026 - 14:00 5 minutes Matthias Heim, SRF

Deutsch de So zeigt sich der Gletscherschwund auf der Karte Read more: So zeigt sich der Gletscherschwund auf der

Thousands of aerial photographs are currently arriving at the Federal Office of Topography (swisstopo) in Wabern, near Bern. The images were captured by swisstopo's aerial survey service, which this year focused on the Alps in cantons Valais and Vaud. Every year, the federal government flies over roughly a third of Switzerland to document changes in the landscape.

“I'm a child of the mountains,” says Tobias Providoli, who heads a team of 35 people at swisstopo. Yet he can barely bring himself to look at the latest images.“I try not to compare them with the old ones, because the decline is so dramatic. I don't even open those images in the first place.”

More More Glaciers & permafrost A fifth of Swiss Alpine ice has vanished in five years

This content was published on Oct 1, 2026 In 2026 summer heatwaves and low snowfall in winter led to the disappearance of dozens of Swiss glaciers.

Read more: A fifth of Swiss Alpine ice has vanished in five

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