Ongoing heatwave affects glaciers Swiss Alps

The ongoing heatwave, combined with the absence of clouds over the Alps, resulted in record-breaking temperatures across Europe, even at high altitudes. According to  MeteoSwiss, the Federal Office for Meteorology and Climatology, the high-altitude air temperature record for the past 70 years ago has recently been recorded.

Glaciers are being heavily affected by the extreme temperatures: the Swiss Pennine Alps, visible in this Copernicus Sentinel-2 image acquired on 22 August 2023, have recently lost their remaining winter ice cover.

Copernicus Sentinel-2 high-resolution open data is used operationally to monitor snow and ice in Europe and globally.