94 of the 96 monitored glaciers continued to retreat during 2024/25. The new glacier report from the Austrian Alpine Club confirms once again that the shrinking of alpine glaciers is continuing rapidly and some glaciers are already entering a phase of structural disintegration. According to the Alpine Club, these changes in the Alps should serve as a wake-up call, prompting people to question their own behavior and to hold politicians accountable.
An average decrease of 20,3 meters in the measurement year 2024/25
The figures speak for themselves. In the glacier budget year 2024/25, the 79 glaciers that were fully surveyed in both years retreated by an average of 20,3 Meters Back. Volunteer glacier surveyors recorded the trend of change at a total of 96 glaciers. The result: 94 of them have shrunk, while only two remained virtually unchanged. Although the current value is slightly below the records of the two previous years, it still ranks eighth in the 135-year measurement series, and there is no reason to sound the all-clear.
The comparison shows: The situation is getting worse and worse.
A look back makes the trend even clearer. In the glacier budget year 2018/19 – also classified as "very unfavorable for glaciers" at the time – the average retreat was 14,3 Meters Of the 84 glaciers surveyed, five remained stationary, and one even appeared to be advancing slightly. Experts clarified that this was not an active advance, but rather a "tilting forward" of the ice margin. The stationary glaciers were protected by old snow or benefited from local topographical features; there was no sign of genuine recovery.
Six years later, the picture has fundamentally changed. Instead of five stationary glaciers, there are now only two, which have hardly changed. The average retreat has increased from 14,3 to 20,3 meters – a rise of around 42 percent. And while in 2018/19, phrases like "progressive ice disintegration" were still considered exceptional, they now describe the normal state of many glaciers.
Too warm, too dry – the weather is driving the decline.
Why are the glaciers melting so quickly? The answer lies in last year's weather conditions. The winter was dry and too warm. Early summer 2024 exacerbated the situation: June was almost 5°C above the long-term average. At the high-altitude weather stations analyzed, the average annual temperature was 2°C higher than the long-term average. At the same time, there was a shortfall of around 24,5 percent of the usual precipitation. This combination of heat and drought is putting massive strain on the glaciers and leaves them little room for recovery.
Many glaciers are not only losing length, but are increasingly entering a phase of structural disintegration. Exposed rock steps, calving ice sections, and collapsing glacier tongues are increasingly shaping their appearance.
Andreas Kellerer-Pirklbauer, Head of the Glacier Measurement Service, University of Graz
The biggest losers
The steepest declines were recorded by:
- Alpine Glacier (Stubai Alps, Tyrol): -114,3 m
- Stubacher Sonnblickkees (Granatspitz Group, Salzburg): -103,9 m
- Krimmler Kees (Venediger Group, Salzburg): -90,3 m
The Pasterze Glacier on the Großglockner, Austria's largest glacier, also lost 54 meters at its main tongue, ranking eighth nationwide. The so-called "horseshoe fracture" connection to the higher-altitude Riffelwinkel section of the Pasterze still exists, but experts predict that the glacier tongue will break off in the coming years. This would split Austria's largest glacier in two. The detached tongue would then continue to melt slowly but surely as a so-called dead ice body.
Climate change in the Alps: The consequences are already here.
The retreat of glaciers is not an abstract future scenario, but a present reality. With this retreat, water balance, landscapes, and alpine infrastructure are changing. Natural hazards are increasing, and entire landscapes are being irrevocably altered. "The glaciers are melting – and with every new report, the urgency grows. Climate change is already a reality in the Alps, and we are experiencing its consequences not sometime in the future, but now. It's no longer a question of whether we can save the glaciers in their old form; it's about mitigating the consequences for ourselves," says Nicole Slupetzky, Vice President of the Austrian Alpine Club.
New: Glacier Monitor makes data publicly accessible
Since 2025, the Alpine Club has been providing current and historical measurement data from the glacier monitoring service in an interactive format. Glacier monitor > alpenverein.at/gletschermonitor It makes it possible to track the development of individual glaciers over decades.
Further information on the glacier monitoring service: alpenverein.at/gletscher
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Credits: Cover image: ÖAV Glacier Measurement Service/Sepp Nussbaumer
Source: Glacier Report 2024/25, Austrian Alpine Club / Glacier Monitoring Service