The glaciers of planet Earth lost on average more ice in summer than they gained in winter during 2025 and for the 38th consecutive year (losing more mass than they manage to recover), according to the global climate report ‘State of the Climate in 2025’, published in the ‘Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society’. The European Alps are one of the regions most affected by this phenomenon, with already visible consequences in the melting of the Mont Blanc glacier that has caused the closure of several of its shelters and its ice tunnel and has also caused rockfalls that ended the life of a French aspiring guide last Thursday, August 13.
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Glaciers, now thinner and shorter ecosystems, are constant masses of snow and ice that vary according to local topography and flow slowly under their own weight. Worldwide, since 1976, they have lost around 9,000 gigatons of water, and 41% of this loss has occurred in the last decade. In addition, at least 181 of these ecosystems are now registered as extinct, as the report explains well.
In Europe, the central zone of the continent, affected by above-average temperatures and drier than usual conditions, recorded an average glacier mass loss of 1.38 meters of water equivalent (m w.e.) of mass, according to the State of the Climate in Europe 2025 report, prepared by the Copernicus Climate Change Service and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
Climate change
Greenhouse gases: less snow and more heat
The causes of this phenomenon are diverse, although all related to climate change. The concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere causes many climate indicators to deteriorate. Carbon dioxide (CO2), methane, and nitrous oxide—the main atmospheric greenhouse gases on Earth—again reached record concentrations in 2025.
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The global average CO2 level reached 425.6 parts per million (ppm) last year, 53% higher than the pre-industrial level of 278 ppm. Temperatures were consequently very high, with 2025 being the warmest year recorded without an El Niño event influencing global temperature. Furthermore, January of that year became the warmest January recorded and most other months, except December, ranked among the top three.
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Glaciers accumulate snow during winter and spring, and occasional summer snowfalls mean that melting slows down or temporarily stops. The important issue is that if glaciers end winter with less snow—the majority of Europe recorded a below-average number of snow days during the winter of 2025 and the annual average snow-covered area in the northern hemisphere was the third lowest recorded in over 55 years—they now also enter a summer characterized by above-average temperatures and solar radiation, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service.
In addition, global soil moisture conditions, which influence extreme weather events including heatwaves and wildfires, were on average drier in 2025 than any other year since records began in 1991.
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