After a “funeral march” of about two hours, the participants, dressed in mourning clothes, reached the foot of the glacier at an altitude of around 2,700 metres near the border with Liechtenstein and Austria. A wreath was laid, but unlike the funeral of the Icelandic Okjökull glacier on August 18 no memorial plaque was left behind.
External Content
Pizol “has lost so much of its mass that, from a scientific point of view, it is no longer a glacier at all”, said Alessandra Degiacomi, of the Swiss Association for Climate Protection, one of the NGOs behind the funeral.
According to Matthias Huss, a glaciologist at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, who took part in the ceremony, the Pizol glacier has lost up to 90% of its volume since 2006 and is now only the size of around four football fields. Huss estimates that more than 500 Swiss glaciers have completely disappeared since 1850, of which only 50 had a name.
“So the Pizol is not the first. But it can be considered as the first Swiss glacier to disappear that has been very well studied,” he said.
The Swiss Network of Glaciological Surveys (GLAMOS), classifies Pizol as a “glacieret”, i.e. very small glaciers, which constitute nearly 80% of the total number of Swiss glaciers. Located at a relatively low altitude (from 2,630 to 2,780 metres above sea level), it’s existence depended on large quantities of snow accumulated in winter.
Macron will attend Swiss summit on Ukraine, says Zelensky
This content was published on
French President Emmanuel Macron will attend the peace conference on Ukraine at the Swiss Bürgenstock resort next month, according to Volodymyr Zelensky.
Top politician tells ‘corrupt’ Eurovision to stay away from Bern
This content was published on
A social media post by the president of Bern’s cantonal government critical of the Eurovision Song Contest has created waves and will be discussed in the cantonal parliament.
Swiss centre records over 200 victims of human trafficking
This content was published on
Last year 317 people took part in a protection programme run by the Specialist Unit for Trafficking in Women and Women’s Migration (FIZ) in German-speaking Switzerland.
This content was published on
The Geneva-based International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and partners are opening a field hospital in southern Gaza on Tuesday.
Lack of smartphone sustainability in Switzerland hits environment
This content was published on
Almost half of all Swiss citizens hang on to their old smartphones, tablets and laptops, according to the Federal Statistical Office.
Police clear out pro-Palestinian students protesting in Geneva
This content was published on
The police intervened early on Tuesday to dislodge pro-Palestinian students who had been occupying the University of Geneva for almost a week.
New gel developed in Zurich renders alcohol harmless
This content was published on
A newly developed gel composed of whey proteins breaks down alcohol in the body and could reduce its harmful and intoxicating effects in humans.
Pro-Palestine protests extend to Basel and Fribourg universities
This content was published on
Demonstrators called for an academic boycott of all Israeli institutions and disassociation with Chaim Weizmann, the first Israeli president.
Swiss scientists and virtual reality focus on shrinking glaciers
This content was published on
As climate researchers predict virtually ice-free Alps by 2100, a virtual reality exhibition helps people envision what that means.
Retreating Swiss glacier spurred May’s new 2050 climate goal
This content was published on
The acting British Prime Minister said she was surprised by the rapid retreat of a glacier she knew from years of walking holidays in the Swiss Alps.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.