The last patch of ice has disappeared from Slovenia’s Triglav glacier, the latest Alpine victim of Europe’s scorching summer. 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. But it then surprised researchers who had feared its imminent demise, clinging on to the mountain for two more decades. In the last five years, which include Europe’s three hottest years on record, the remaining ice has melted into a handful of isolated pockets, with the last remnant of the main body measuring just a few metres by the end of summer. New photos of the mountainside—taken before and after this month’s snowfall—confirm that no ice remains.
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 losing 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.”
Fierce heatwaves made hotter by carbon pollution have ravaged the Alps, reducing big white glaciers to what scientists have called “moonlike” rock deserts. Last month, Swiss glaciologists found that nearly a fifth of the country’s ice had disappeared in the last five years, with a 5.5% drop in volume in 2026.
In Slovenia, home to the south-eastern tip of the Alps, the Triglav glacier suffered most of its decline in the last century. 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.
Zorn, who first took measurements at the glacier in 2001, said the rate of change was surprising even in the decades when the glacier defied expectations. The spot where he had to put on crampons to keep from slipping moved back year after year as the glacier receded. “The melting is incredible,” he said. “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.”
Triglav is Slovenia’s highest peak, a cultural touchstone that every person in the country of skiers and climbers is expected to climb at least once. Although the glacier has vanished, scientists have found ice in the caves beneath Triglav, as its retreat has exposed new shafts. A second glacier on the Skuta mountain has also shrunk and thinned, but the remaining patch of ice is better shaded than Triglav’s and is expected to last a few more years.
Western Europe suffered through its hottest summer on record this year, causing at least 50,000 estimated heat deaths and costly secondary effects ranging from failed harvests to power plants being forced to shut down. Scientists are still assessing the damage done to ecosystems.
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 i“It’s 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.”
Frequently Asked Questions
FAQs Slovenia Mourns the Loss of the Glacier on Its Highest Peak
1 What happened to the glacier on Slovenias highest peak
Slovenias highest mountain is Mount Triglav The small glacier beneath its summitsometimes called the Triglav glacierhas shrunk for decades and after a scorching summer has effectively disappeared leaving only ice remnants or snow patches
2 Where exactly was the glacier located
It sat in a hollow on the mountains north face just below the summit in the Julian Alps
3 Why is this a big deal for Slovenia
Triglav is a national symbolit appears on the flag and coins Losing its glacier is a visible emotional sign of climate change in a country that prides itself on its alpine landscape
4 What is a glacier exactly
A large persistent body of compacted ice that forms over many years and slowly moves under its own weight Tiny nonmoving ice patches dont count as true glaciers
5 Was it ever a real glacier
It was long described as one of the easternmost glaciers in the Alps but it had shrunk to a fragile ice patch Many experts had already stopped calling it a true glacier
6 How big was it before
In the 19th century it covered several hectares By recent years it was down to well under a hectaresometimes just scattered ice and snow
7 What caused the loss
Rising temperatures especially hotter summers plus less winter snowfall to replenish it Dust and Saharan sand blowing onto the ice also made it melt faster by darkening the surface
8 Did one hot summer really kill it
The scorching summer was the final blow but the decline took decades The heat simply finished off ice that was already marginal
9 Is the ice completely gone
Not alwayssmall ice and snow patches can still linger and may briefly reappear in cold snowy years But the glacier as a lasting feature is considered gone
10 Can it come back
Unlikely under current warming trends It could only recover with many consecutive cold snowy yearswhich climate projections dont favor
11 How do scientists know its disappearing
They measure its area and thickness regularly use photos going back over a century and
