Triglav glacier disappears as Europe's hottest summer on record takes toll

Last ice on Slovenia's highest peak vanishes, removing a cultural landmark and climate indicator

By LineZotpaper AI staff

Published27 October 2026

Read Time2 min

Illustration: Triglav glacier disappears as Europe's hottest summer on record takes toll

The final patch of ice on Slovenia's Mount Triglav has melted completely, scientists have confirmed, ending the glacier's existence after decades of decline accelerated by Europe's record-breaking summer heat.

The Triglav glacier, long a symbol of Slovenian national identity and a key indicator of climate change in the Alps, has disappeared. New photographs taken this month, after snowfall, show no ice remains where the last remnants of the glacier had clung on. The once-extensive ice mass had already lost 93% of its surface area between 1983 and 2003, shrinking to under a hectare, and then persisted in isolated pockets for another two decades. Europe's three hottest years on record, all within the last five years, finished the job.

Matija Zorn, director of the Anton Melik Geographical Institute, said Mount Triglav "holds a central place in Slovenian national identity" and the loss of the glacier means the loss of an important data source and indicator of climate change. "Every year I knew that the ice was going to be less and less," he said. "But I was shocked every year [by] how much less ice was up there." Zorn described taking a five-metre ice core for analysis in 2002, only to find the following year that the same spot was bare rock.

Historical records suggest the glacier covered about 40 hectares in the mid-1800s, shrinking to 14 hectares by the time of the first formal measurements in 1946. Western Europe suffered its hottest summer on record this year, causing an estimated 50,000 heat-related deaths and widespread disruption to harvests and power generation.

Miha Pavšek, a glaciologist and mountain guide, said "nature is changing in front of our eyes" but people were not yet taking it seriously. "With the melting of the glacier, a part of me is also going away," he said, recalling a photograph of his parents there in 1957. "There are some things that humans thought were eternal. Glaciers are obviously not."

A second glacier on Slovenia's Skuta mountain has also shrunk and thinned but is expected to survive a few more years because it is better shaded.

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Analysis

Why This Matters

The loss of Triglav glacier removes a cultural symbol that every Slovenian is expected to climb at least once, and a long-term climate record.
The glacier's demise is part of a broader pattern: Swiss glaciers lost nearly a fifth of their ice in the last five years alone.
The melting exposes new cave shafts beneath Triglav, where ice may remain, but the surface indicator of climate change is gone.

Background

Triglav is Slovenia's highest peak and appears on the country's flag. The glacier had been monitored since 1946, and its decline accelerated sharply in the 21st century. Europe's Alpine glaciers are retreating across the continent, with scientists describing some areas as moonlike rock deserts. The 2026 summer, the hottest on record for Western Europe, delivered the final blow to the Triglav glacier.

What to Watch

Scientific assessments of other Alpine glaciers, particularly Skuta, which may hold out a few more years.
Continued monitoring of ice in caves beneath Triglav, which could provide further data on climate history.
The response of Slovenian authorities and cultural organisations to the loss of a national landmark.

Sources

Slovenia mourns loss of glacier on its highest peak after scorching summer · The Guardian

Checked

12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 6 supported.

Show each claim

Partly supportedThe Triglav glacier disappeared as Europe's hottest summer on record took its toll.World news | The Guardian: “The final ice patch has vanished from Slovenia’s Triglav glacier, the latest Alpine casualty of Europe’s scorching summer.”
Partly supportedThe vanished glacier was a cultural landmark as well as a climate indicator.World news | The Guardian: “Triglav is Slovenia’s highest peak, a cultural touchpoint that every person in the country of skiers and climbers is expected to climb at least once.”
Not in the sourcesScientists confirmed that the final patch of ice had melted completely.World news | The Guardian: “New photos of the mountainside – taken either side of snowfall this month – confirm that no ice remains.”
Partly supportedPhotographs taken after snowfall this month show no ice where the last remnants had been.World news | The Guardian: “New photos of the mountainside – taken either side of snowfall this month – confirm that no ice remains.”
SupportedThe glacier lost 93% of its surface area between 1983 and 2003 and shrank to less than a hectare.World news | The Guardian: “The once mighty ice mass lost 93% of its surface area between 1983 and 2003, shrinking to cover less than a hectare of overheated rock”
Partly supportedEurope’s three hottest years on record, all within the last five years, finished the glacier off.World news | The Guardian: “In the last five years, which includes Europe’s three hottest years on record, the remaining ice has melted to a handful of isolated pockets”
SupportedZorn said he knew the ice would diminish each year and was shocked by how much less remained.World news | The Guardian: ““Every year I knew that the ice was going to be less and less,” he said. “But I was shocked every year [by] how much less ice was up there.””
SupportedZorn said a five-metre ice core taken in 2002 was followed by bare rock at the same spot the next year.World news | The Guardian: ““In 2002 … we took a core of ice out for some geochemical analysis and it was like 5 metres [deep]. The next year, I was standing on the same spot … not on ice, but on rock.””
SupportedHistorical records suggest the glacier covered about 40 hectares in the mid-1800s and 14 hectares in 1946.World news | The Guardian: “Historical photographs and documents suggest the glacier covered about 40 hectares in the mid-1800s. By 1946, when scientists conducted the first formal measurements, its area had shrunk to just 14 hectares.”
Partly supportedWestern Europe’s hottest summer on record caused an estimated 50,000 heat-related deaths.World news | The Guardian: “Western Europe suffered through its hottest summer on record this year, causing at least 50,000 estimated heat deaths”
SupportedPavšek said nature was changing before people’s eyes, but people were not taking it seriously.World news | The Guardian: “Miha Pavšek, a glaciologist and mountain guide, said “nature is changing in front of our eyes” but people were not yet taking it seriously.”
SupportedPavšek said the glacier’s melting made part of him feel he was going away, and that glaciers are not eternal.World news | The Guardian: ““With the melting of the glacier, a part of me is also going away,” said Pavšek, who has a photograph of his parents there in 1957. “There are some things that humans thought were eternal. Glaciers are obviously not.””