When Matthias Huss first visited Rhône Glacier in Switzerland 35 years ago, the ice was just a short walk from where his parents would park the car.
When I first stepped onto the ice... there [was] a special feeling of eternity, says Matthias.
Today, it's half an hour from the same parking spot and the scene is very different.
Every time I go back, I remember how it used to be, recalls Matthias, who is now director of Glacier Monitoring in Switzerland (GLAMOS).
There are similar stories for many glaciers worldwide, as these frozen rivers of ice are retreating rapidly.
In 2024, glaciers outside the giant ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica lost 450 billion tonnes of ice.
This amount is equivalent to a block of ice 7km tall, 7km wide, and 7km deep - enough water to fill 180 million Olympic swimming pools.
Switzerland’s glaciers have lost a quarter of their ice in the last decade. Satellite images show how the Rhône Glacier has changed since 1990, illustrating an alarming trend of retreat.
Glaciers melting lead to significant water loss, affecting regions that rely on them for drinking water, irrigation, and hydropower.
As temperatures continue to rise, scientists emphasize the urgency of taking substantial action to limit global warming to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels to preserve half of the remaining ice across mountain glaciers.
Without drastic reductions in carbon emissions, substantial glacier losses could lead to severe consequences for millions of people who depend on glacial meltwater for survival.
