Switzerland's Glaciers Shrink Another 2.5% Despite Heavy Snowfall

Workers adjust protective insulating fabric that covers part of the Rhone Glacier in the Swiss Alps near Gletsch, Switzerland, on Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. (Credit: FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images)

Switzerland's glaciers lost 2.5% of their volume to melting this summer despite a heavy snowfall that should have given them extra protection from the heat.

Experts said "very high" temperatures were compounded by the heat-absorbing effect of reddish-yellow dust that blew north from the Sahara Desert, the Associated Press reported Tuesday.