Austria’s glaciers are retreating, and the changes are visible across the Alps, according to Austria’s Alpine Club. In a report issued covering 2024 and 2025, the club said that “dramatic development” shows how climate change is affecting high mountain ice in Austria, with “All but two of Austria’s 96 glaciers” having withdrawn over the previous two years.
The club’s measurements identified the Alpeiner Ferner in western Tyrol and the Stubacher Sonnblickkees in Salzburg as the glaciers facing the greatest loss. It said both have retreated by more than 100 meters over the period assessed, while the average retreat across Austria’s glaciers was more than 20 meters, according to the Alpine Club’s account.
In describing the process of ice loss, the Alpine Club said the “disintegration of the glacier tongue” is progressing at the Pasterze, Austria’s largest glacier. The club said its findings “confirms once again the long-term trend: Glaciers in Austria continue to shrink significantly in length, area, and volume.”
The Alpine Club tied the retreat to poor weather conditions, including low snowfall, and to warm temperatures. It pointed to an “exceptionally hot June” last year, saying it was “nearly 5 degrees Celsius (9 degrees Fahrenheit) above the average,” and said those conditions contributed to the glaciers’ withdrawal.
The club said the retreat of glaciers in Europe has broad implications beyond the landscape itself, affecting drinking water, power generation, agriculture, infrastructure and recreational activities. It also noted neighboring Switzerland, which has the most glaciers in Europe, has reported similar glacier retreat in recent years, a pattern it said has been observed worldwide.
Nicole Slupetzky, the club’s vice president, said in the report that the situation is worsening and that the need for action is no longer about whether glaciers can be saved “in their old form.” “The glaciers are melting — and with every new report, the urgency grows,” Slupetzky said. “It’s no longer a question of whether we can still save the glaciers in their old form; it’s about mitigating the consequences for ourselves.”
The Alpine Club described the latest two-year figure as lower than in the preceding two years, but said it still ranks as the eight-largest retreat in the 135 years of measurements. It urged that the changes in the Alps serve as a “wake-up call” for policymakers and the public, it said, to adjust their behavior in response to what it described as visible effects of climate change.