Glaciers that formed in the Swiss Alps last winter are melting at a rapid pace. At the current rate, they are expected to be completely gone on the 29th, the second-fastest pace since the start of the 21st century.
GLAMOS, the glacier monitoring team at ETH Zurich, estimated the day all glaciers in the Swiss Alps will melt to be the 29th, AFP and Switzerland's SRF reported on the 27th local time.
In two days, all the glaciers will be gone. The researchers estimated that the meltwater flowing down from the glaciers could fill an Olympic-size swimming pool every six seconds. They said 2.5 million liters (L) are pouring out every six seconds.
Alpine glaciers typically finished melting around mid-August. This melt rate is the second-fastest after June 26, 2022, which was recorded as the fastest glacier melt since 2000.
The GLAMOS team analyzed that a record heat wave lasting two months was the cause. The heat wave, which began mainly in France and the United Kingdom, is spreading across Europe. Switzerland was not spared. Major cities saw highs around 40 degrees, rewriting all-time records.