Eight Swedish Glaciers Disappear Amid Record-Breaking Heat, Warn Scientists
STOCKHOLM – Sweden has lost eight of its glaciers, scientists confirmed, marking the first complete disappearances since high-resolution satellite monitoring began around 2000.
The alarming discovery was made by glaciology professor Nina Kirchner and her team at the Tarfala Research Station, near Kebnekaise, Sweden’s highest peak. Each year, the team studies satellite images to track changes in the country’s glaciers.
“At the beginning of 2025, when we reviewed the 2024 data, we couldn’t find eight of the glaciers in the satellite images,” Kirchner told AFP. “At first, we thought we had made a mistake, but after double-checking, we realized the glaciers are gone.”
Among the lost glaciers was Cunujokeln, Sweden’s northernmost glacier, located in Vadvetjakka National Park. The largest of the eight measured roughly the size of six football pitches.
“2024 was an extremely warm year. The heat has eaten away at these glaciers and made them disappear,” Kirchner said, highlighting the devastating impact of rising temperatures.
The World Meteorological Organization reported 2024 as the hottest year on record globally. Scientists attribute the warming largely to centuries of fossil fuel use, including coal, oil, and gas.
While Kirchner said this winter’s heavy snowfall and shorter, cooler summer likely spared other Swedish glaciers from extinction in 2025, she warned that ongoing climate change will inevitably put more glaciers at risk.
“These glaciers won’t come back in our lifetime—and not if global warming continues,” she said.
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