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Another glacier lost due to heat

Thursday, 13 August 2026 06:30

Bella Tola Glacier (c) Par Björn S

Valais has lost another glacier, with successive heatwaves and long-term warming reducing the Bella Tola to a few dwindling patches of snow.

The local paper Le Nouvelliste reports that little more than stones now remain where the ice used to be.

The Bella Tola had been named among six Swiss glaciers considered at high risk of disappearing entirely.

Its retreat is the latest signal that Alpine ice cover is unwinding faster than predicted, with knock-on effects for water supply and mountain landscapes.

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