Climate Crisis Worsens as Eight Swedish Glaciers Cease to Exist in 2024

Eight Swedish glaciers completely vanished during 2024, a historic event marking the first time since the introduction of high-resolution satellite monitoring around 2000 that glaciers have disappeared entirely in Sweden. These eight glaciers, part of the original 277 glaciers in the country, were confirmed extinct after detailed analysis of satellite images by experts from the Tarfala Research Station in northern Sweden. The station, directed by glaciology professor Nina Kirchner of Stockholm University, has been conducting continuous glacier monitoring since 1946, making it one of the most important scientific facilities for studying climate impacts on Arctic and sub-Arctic glaciers.

The disappearance of these glaciers comes amid record-breaking global temperatures. The World Meteorological Organization declared 2024 as the hottest year on record globally, with temperatures 1.55 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. This unprecedented heatwave accelerated glacier melt worldwide, including in Sweden, where the extreme warmth "ate away" at the glaciers, making several vanish altogether. One of the vanished glaciers was Cunujokeln, Sweden’s northernmost glacier located in Vadvetjakka National Park near the Norwegian border. The largest glacier lost was roughly the size of six football pitches. According to Kirchner, these glaciers will likely never return in a human lifetime if global warming continues unabated.

The confirmed loss of these eight glaciers reduces Sweden’s total glacier count to 269, and the situation remains precarious for many others. Kirchner and her team warn that another 30 glaciers are currently under threat of extinction due to sustained warming and melting trends. While the winter of 2024–2025 saw heavy snowfall and a relatively cool summer, which may have slowed immediate glacier loss, the overall trend of warming summers is expected to continue. Kirchner emphasizes that more glaciers will continue to disappear in the upcoming decades unless mitigation actions are taken to curb greenhouse gas emissions.

The ongoing loss of Sweden's glaciers is part of a broader climatic phenomenon seen across the Arctic and globally, where glaciers are retreating rapidly. The research station also monitors Kebnekaise, Sweden’s highest peak, which formerly was topped by an ice-covered southern summit. The melting of this ice cap has changed the country's highest point to the northern ice-free peak. These changes not only serve as dramatic indicators of climate change but also have profound ecological impacts, affecting downstream water supplies, vegetation, and Arctic biodiversity dependent on seasonal meltwater.

Scientists warn that if current emission trends continue, four out of every five Swedish glaciers could disappear by 2100. This projection highlights the critical urgency to address climate change as the melting glaciers contribute to rising sea levels and disrupt fragile ecosystems both locally and globally. The data collected by Tarfala over decades represents essential evidence of the accelerating pace at which natural ice reserves are diminishing in the Arctic region, where warming advances twice as fast as the global average.

This unprecedented glacier loss in Sweden underscores a dire environmental reality fueled by human-driven global warming primarily from the combustion of coal, oil, and fossil gas since the industrial revolution. The complete disappearance of glaciers is not only a loss of natural heritage but also a warning signal about the future of water resources and climate stability. The latest findings from Kirchner and her team at the Tarfala Research Station serve as a critical call for global action to limit further warming and protect remaining ice masses before they succumb to irreversible decline.