Swiss glaciers lose 10% of their volume in 2 years: "Very visible" evidence of climate's "critical state"

London — Switzerland's alpine glaciers have lost 10% of their volume over the last two years alone, the Swiss Academy of Sciences reported Thursday, calling the sudden reduction clear evidence of the "very critical state" of the climate. The glaciers have shed as much ice in two years as they did in the 30 years between 1960 and 1990.

The rate of ice loss in 2023 was 4%, the second worst year on record after 2022, when they lost 6% of their volume.

"It's the second most negative year," Matthias Huss, the head of GLAMOS, an organization that monitors glaciers in Switzerland and collected the data for the academy's report, told CBS News. "We've seen the two worst years in a row, and this is even more worrying."