23.08.2024Which glacier is next to disappear?

The Global Glacier Casualty List is a dynamic platform to visualize data about recently disappeared and soon-to-disappear glaciers. It tells these glaciers’ stories and how their losses have or will impact human communities in terms of cultural meaning, natural beauty, water availability, economic opportunity and world heritage. 

The continued strong melting and increasing imbalance of glaciers are observed across the world (WGMS, 2023).  At the same time, the project reminds us that all our glaciers are endangered and every further increase in temperature matters (Rounce et al., 2023). The disappearance or preservation of glaciers strongly depends on our success in limiting further human-caused global warming.

Around 1850 Pizol Glacier filled up the entire cirque below the prominent peak of Pizol Mountain with more than 100-meter-thick ice. In 2006, detailed measurements of mass gains in winter and the losses in summer began and yielded unique insights into the processes involved during the disappearance of a glacier. The disintegration of the glacier into two parts was observed after the hot summer of 2018, and into five pieces in 2019. From this time point on, Pizol Glacier did not meet the criteria to be a glacier anymore, namely having a certain area of continuous ice and still be flowing.

The first memorial ceremony for a dying Swiss glacier was organized at Pizol Glacier in 2019 which attracted widespread international media interest. The idea was to show the Swiss public what is at stake if global warming continues and to sensitize people to the issue. Read more …

Global Glacier Casualty List
Global Glacier Change Bulletin
Global Glacier Change Projections in the 21st Century
World Glacier Monitoring Service