Slovenian Glacier Poised to Vanish Within Days, Scientists Warn
The Triglav Glacier, once a 34-acre skiing destination, is succumbing to climate change and may disappear entirely in the coming days.
Scientists have warned that the Triglav Glacier in Slovenia could disappear entirely within days, marking the end of an era for the country's shrinking ice masses. The glacier, which once covered 14 hectares (34 acres) when first monitored in 1946, has ceased to function as a glacier and is no longer forming new ice.
Miha Pavšek of the Anton Melik Geographical Institute at the Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, who has monitored Triglav for 30 years, stated that "everything indicates that the very last remnants of ice will literally disappear within these coming days." He noted that the task of monitoring this glacier appears to be concluding this year.
Located on the northeastern side of Mount Triglav, Slovenia's highest peak, the glacier's decline has been accelerated by climate change. The region experienced below-average snowfall this past year, and the snow that did fall melted earlier than usual. This exposed the glacier to warmer temperatures for extended periods, leading to rapid melting.
"Even a sheltered, shaded location could no longer save the remnants of these true glaciers," Pavšek explained. The fate of the Triglav Glacier reflects a broader trend across Europe, where numerous glaciers are diminishing due to global warming.
In Switzerland, a recent assessment by scientists from ETH Zurich indicated that 2026 has been a devastating year for the country's glaciers. Their measurements across 23 glaciers revealed a total loss of 5.5% of ice volume this year, with an average decrease in thickness of 2.9 meters (9.5 feet). Some glacier tongues have lost as much as 10 meters (32 feet) of ice, and several smaller glaciers have already melted away completely.
An interactive tool called the Global Glacier Extinction Explorer, developed by scientists from ETH Zurich and Vrije Universiteit Brussel, illustrates the potential future of glaciers worldwide, estimating their disappearance timelines under various global warming scenarios. The situation in Slovenia and Switzerland underscores the urgent challenges posed by rising global temperatures to glacial environments.