Glacier loss could break the 2022 record after a series of heatwaves this summer, raising the risk of falling river levels and deadly ice avalanches

I am climbing Switzerland’s Rhône glacier when I feel a thump deep under my feet, then another. The glacier is shifting and cracking as it slides down the mountain, opening new crevasses within. Dazzling blue melt streams grow and multiply across the sooty ice. Every few minutes, melting glacial remnants on the valley wall unleash rocks that crash down with the rumble of cannon fire, raising clouds of dust. Suddenly, the 20 metres of ice under my crampons doesn’t feel very solid.

Glaciers in the Alps are on track for record-breaking ice loss