Photo Essay | The Last Glaciers: Only Four Remain in Germany, All May Disappear by the 2030s

According to Xinhua News Agency, German researchers released a study on March 21, the eve of World Glaciers Day, stating that due to climate change, Germany’s remaining four glaciers are melting at an accelerated rate and may disappear entirely by the 2030s.

Satellite images show the shrinking of the South Schneeferner glacier ice cover. This mountain glacier was severely affected by extreme high temperatures in the summer of 2022. Due to limited remaining ice, the South Schneeferner glacier will cease to flow downward and can no longer be called a glacier. Image source: European Union, Sentinel-2 satellite imagery.

On August 11, 2025, local time, in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, the Schneeferner glacier on Zugspitze mountain is melting, forming streams of water. Experts predict that within one or two years, the glacier will lose some of its features and will be completely gone around 2030. Visual China.

Latest measurements by the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and other institutions show that the four glaciers in Germany have collectively lost over a quarter of their area between 2023 and 2025. Among them, the Blaueis and Watzmann glaciers have each shrunk by over 40%. These two glaciers are located in the Bavarian Alps near Berchtesgaden.

On August 12, 2023, in Bavaria, Germany, snow remaining on the Blaueis glacier has almost completely melted. Visual China.

On August 13, 2025, in Berchtesgaden, Germany, the Blaueis glacier has nearly disappeared. Visual China.

Researchers say that from 2023 to 2025, these four glaciers have lost about 1 million cubic meters of ice in total, with an average annual ice thickness decrease of 1.6 meters, significantly faster than the melting rate from 2018 to 2023. They attribute this mainly to the sustained higher temperatures in the Alps in recent years due to climate change.

On August 11, 2023, in Bavaria, Germany, snow on the Watzmann glacier is gradually decreasing. Visual China.

On August 12, 2025, in Berchtesgaden, Germany, the Watzmann glacier is reduced to rubble and residual snow. Visual China.

Glacial melting also impacts surrounding infrastructure. Due to the significant decline of ice surfaces, a ski lift on the northern plateau of Zugspitze, Germany’s highest peak, which had been closed for two winters, was dismantled starting on the 20th. This means Germany will lose its only glacier ski resort. Influenced by high temperatures and other factors, the southern Schneeferner glacier has lost its glacier status since 2022. It was once Germany’s fifth glacier.

Photos of the Schneeferner glacier in June 2026.

Photos of the Schneeferner glacier in June 2025. Visual China.

On August 8, 2025, in Germany, a man observes the dismantled ski lift on the North Schneeferner glacier. Visual China.

Researchers state that glacier melting is one of the most direct signs of the climate crisis. The warming rate in the Alps is about twice the global average. After glaciers melt, the dark debris exposed absorbs more heat, further accelerating melting.

On September 30, 2025, in Glarus, Swiss Alps, a composite photo shows an aerial view taken on August 24, 2023, over the Rhône Glacier (top), where the glacier is covered with insulating foam to prevent melting; and an aerial view taken on September 12, 2025, showing the bottom of the Rhône Glacier melting and flowing into a glacial lake. A study warns that Swiss glaciers are particularly affected by climate change, having shrunk by a quarter over the past decade. The Swiss Glacier Monitoring Network (GLAMOS) reports that in 2025, Swiss glacier melt is again “huge,” approaching the record set in 2022. Visual China.

Over the past few decades, at least 600 glaciers worldwide have disappeared. The 2025 Cryosphere Report states that global glacier ice loss is increasing exponentially. From 2000 to 2023, the largest losses occurred in the Central European and Caucasus regions, which lost 39% and 35% of their ice respectively, with snow cover thickness and duration decreasing. In the Alps and subtropical Andes, glaciers are expected to reach their peak earlier, with up to 50% disappearing in the next 20 years. In Tajikistan, 30% of glaciers have vanished over the past century, severely impacting water supply and agriculture. Slovenia and Venezuela have lost all their glaciers.

On November 3, 2025, a chart shows that due to global warming, glaciers in the European Alps and Caucasus are expected to disappear completely by 2100. Over the past 20 years, more than 6,000 cubic kilometers of ice have been lost globally, accounting for about 5% of the total ice volume. By 2100, 26% to 41% of existing glaciers could vanish, raising sea levels by at least 1 meter. In some cases, all glaciers in the European Alps and Caucasus are projected to disappear entirely. Source: Copernicus Climate Change Service, ETH Zurich.

In November 2022, UNESCO released the “World Heritage Glacier Report,” stating that by 2050, one-third of glaciers in world heritage sites will have melted due to climate change. The most effective way to prevent glacier retreat is to significantly reduce carbon emissions. Climate change affects the entire planet and is a crisis related to human survival. Protecting glaciers is protecting humanity’s future.

Image and text sources: Xinhua News Agency, CCTV News, “2025 World Water Resources Development Report,” “2025 Cryosphere Status Report,” Visual China.