The snow and ice accumulated over the winter in the Swiss Alps have already completely melted, according to a monitoring service, marking the second earliest arrival of the critical moment known as the “glacier loss day,” AFP reported.

According to Glacier Monitoring in Switzerland (GLAMOS), any further melting from now until October will result in additional shrinkage of Switzerland’s glaciers. This threshold is typically reached in August, and its early arrival is yet another severe blow to the Alpine country’s 1,400 glaciers, which are retreating at alarming rates.

“The glacier loss day has arrived in Switzerland,” wrote Matthias Huss, head of GLAMOS, on X, explaining that there had been little snowfall during the winter, while June was recorded as the second warmest month to date.

“From this point on, any glacier melt until October is unsustainable,” Huss stressed. He noted that the only time this critical moment came even earlier was during the record-breaking year of 2022, when it occurred on June 26.

“Expect significant ice loss due to the extended melting season,” he warned.

The glaciers in the Swiss Alps began retreating about 170 years ago. Initially, the process was slow, but in recent decades the melting has accelerated dramatically. | BGNES