When we installed solar panels, it felt like an easy way to help the climate. A year later, that early optimism has stayed with me. But I did not expect that my decision would turn from a climate choice into an exercise in using spreadsheets.

Sudden, spectacular and often deadly: avalanches are among the main natural hazards in the Alps and other mountainous regions. However, their impact is not always purely destructive. They play a crucial role in the survival of many glaciers in Switzerland and worldwide. @wslresearch.bsky.social

Global warming is casting a long shadow over the future of the Winter Games. Could Switzerland’s proposed low-impact 2038 edition be a path forward?

Although the digital world may feel intangible and efficient, it’s a substantial contributor to environmental pollution and depleting the planet’s resources. @greenpeace.eu

Despite years of awareness campaigns and a national project to reduce waste, large amounts of edible food go directly from Swiss kitchens to the trash.

The catastrophic collapse of the Birch Glacier that wiped out the Swiss mountain village of Blatten in May has triggered an unprecedented scientific effort to understand how a mountainside could break up so violently – and what might come next.

The #WSL #CCAMM research programme ends after eight years: researchers reveal how #climatechange is altering #naturalhazards in the Alps – and where action is now required. More details in the news article: www.slf.ch/en/news/ccam...

More people are turning to courts to push states and companies to do more for the climate. What’s been the result? We asked one of the world’s leading experts in environmental law and climate litigation. @sabincenter.bsky.social

Glaciers of the world - local melting and global impacts

Zurich is home to a unique housing cooperative meant to model sustainable living. A decade on, some residents have found changing their habits to be more challenging than expected.

Against the backdrop of COP30 – the first United Nations climate conference held in the Amazon – Indigenous communities whose rainforest preservation efforts are key to climate solutions are facing new, violent threats as a UN carbon scheme struggles to take hold.

Four residents of the small Indonesian island of Pulau Pari have vowed to fight one of the most climate-damaging industries: cement. @greenpeace.eu

CAT Global Update 2025 🚨 Ten years after the #ParisAgreement we see little to no measurable progress in warming projections - for the fourth consecutive year. The 2035 #NDCs have made no difference to our warming outlook. 🔗 bit.ly/CAT_Global_2...

"Developed countries should not use Article 6 (of Paris Agreement) to meet their climate targets. They bear significant historical responsibility for emissions and must prioritise domestic action", says Federica Dossi of @carbonmarketwatch.bsky.social. @fridaysforfuture.bsky.social

“Today we are fully capable of giving up fossil fuels, both for heating buildings and for transportation,” says Martine Rebetez, professor of applied climatology at the University of Neuchâtel and the @wslresearch.bsky.social. @ethz.ch

“Discouragement and sadness prevail when I consider what has been done politically,” says Sonia Seneviratne, climatologist at @ethz.ch. @soniaseneviratne.bsky.social @retoknutti.bsky.social

The goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels will not be achieved. We outline the possible consequences of crossing this threshold for life on Earth and in Switzerland, a country already heavily affected by rising temperatures. @wmo-global.bsky.social

Ten years after the Paris Agreement, a survey of climate scientists in Switzerland shows they no longer expect the world to limit warming to 1.5°C. On average, they expect warming of 2.5°C by 2100. @ethz.ch @unibe.ch @unil.bsky.social

“The decade following the Paris Agreement in 2015 saw an unprecedented acceleration in wind and solar generation growth like no other electricity technology has seen before,” Kostantsa Rangelova, an analyst at @ember-energy.org.

The glaciers of the Pamirs in Central Asia were among the few in the world that remained stable – or even grew – as others melted. According to a study, this anomaly may have come to an end. @vaw-glaciology.bsky.social

Farmers around the world are adapting to rising temperatures. In Switzerland they are experimenting with new crops that can withstand heat and drought. @sustainablefarming.bsky.social @fao.org

[2/2] This year’s melt was driven by a snow-poor winter and summer heatwaves. Glaciers below 3k m lost over 2 m of ice. Shrinking glaciers also destabilize mountains, as seen in May, when a rock–ice avalanche buried Blatten in the Lötschental. 🔗 to #GLAMOS report: doi.glamos.ch/pubs/annualr...

[1/2] 📢 GLAMOS @scnat.ch press release out today: Swiss glaciers lost another 3% of their volume in 2025, the 4th-largest decline ever measured. In just 10 years, they’ve lost a quarter of their ice mass. Over 1k small glaciers have already vanished. 🔗 to press release: scnat.ch/en/uuid/i/9d...

“This year turned out to be a little less extreme than we feared", says Matthias Huss, director of GLAMOS. “However, what worries me is that we’re getting used to these very negative years. It’s a new normal, but one that shouldn’t be there.” @matthias-huss.bsky.social @vaw-glaciology.bsky.social

Holcim holds the first line of defence for all companies worldwide whose business harm the climate.

Residents of Pulau Pari, a small island in Indonesia, accuse Swiss cement giant Holcim of contributing to the climate crisis that threatens their existence. ‪@ecchr.bsky.social‬ @sabincenter.bsky.social‬

Residents of Pulau Pari, a small island in Indonesia, accuse Swiss cement giant Holcim of contributing to the climate crisis that threatens their existence. ‪@ecchr.bsky.social‬ @sabincenter.bsky.social‬

In Switzerland, it’s worth taking extra care when moving house or clearing out a flat: it’s not uncommon to find a Vreneli hidden away in a drawer, a bag or even in the lining of an old coat.

The worst disaster in Swiss history, in which 88 people perished after two million cubic metres of ice and debris plunged onto a dam construction site, was dismissed as an “unforeseeable event”. Sixty years after the Mattmark tragedy, the survivors’ memories persist.

Twenty years after the “flood of the century”, the Swiss approach to hazard insurance, based on solidarity, could inspire other countries dealing with increasingly frequent disasters.

“We now better understand what happens when ice falls into the sea: it not only breaks off, but also increases melting below the water’s surface,” says Andreas Vieli, professor of glaciology at ‪@ethz.ch‬ @vaw-glaciology.bsky.social‬

The @ametsoc.org State of the Climate Report for 2024 is now published: doi.org/10.1175/2025... I am happy to have contributed again to this year's issue - see our section in 'The Arctic' chapter: doi.org/10.1175/BAMS... Another historic year for Earth's climate... 🚨

World electricity consumption for air conditioning will triple by 2050, the ‪@iea.org‬ predicts. In the future, air conditioners worldwide will use as much electricity as China consumed in all of 2018.

The pharmaceutical industry is a major driver of the Swiss economy, but its strength has also made it a key vulnerability for Switzerland in trade talks with the US.

The Swiss pharmaceutical sector is in Trump’s crosshairs. Here’s the story of one of the industries that has contributed to Switzerland’s prosperity.

As the United States cuts funding for science and threatens universities, many researchers are looking to relocate, and Europe is rolling out the red carpet. Switzerland, however, is not trying to woo them.

“The risk of use of nuclear weapons is higher now than it has ever been,” says Melissa Parke, executive director of ICAN, a Geneva-based organisation that won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2017 for its role in advancing the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

What do an orphan from Lucerne and a geologist from Western Switzerland have in common? A fascination with mysterious creatures.

In 1969, Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne spent six weeks in Zurich – a formative time for the young band, who honed their style in marathon sessions.

Climate change is putting glacier tourism at risk. A vital industry for local communities could disappear. A researcher at the University of Lausanne has come up with solutions to ensure this doesn’t happen. @unil.bsky.social‬

East Africa’s tropical glaciers, from Kilimanjaro to Mount Kenya, are disappearing due to climate change. What does this mean for the continent’s water supply?

The need for energy security and cleaner energies in the face of global warming are putting nuclear energy back on the agenda of some countries. @greenpeace.eu‬

#Debris #Flows often cause death and devastation. A research team has precisely measured these flows. The study reveals previously unexplained factors and helps to take #Protective #Measures. @eth-eaps.bsky.social

‪Elizaveta Sharaborova, a PhD researcher at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), is working on a project to prevent or delay permafrost thawing by using underground cooling pipes. @pyrn-official.bsky.social‬

Climate misinformation is ‘muddying waters’ and delaying urgent action, experts warn

In Switzerland, climate warming is proceeding twice as fast as the global average. @wmo-global.bsky.social‬

This is the collapsing terminus of Rhone #glacier yesterday - retreating out of its proglacial lake. Impressive changes going on during the heat wave! We measured almost 3 meters of ice melting over the last 4 weeks... This is 10 cm of ice layer removed every single day!!

Research projects in Switzerland are opening new possibilities in natural hazard monitoring. @wslresearch.bsky.social‬ ‪@ethz.ch‬