Another Heatwave Hits the Alps & Pyrenees
9th July 2026
The glaciers in the Alps are melting at an increased rate with the handful of summer ski areas open suffering. In the Pyrenees forest fires are raging as another summer heatwave strikes. NEW
The Alps is experiencing another heatwave and this one may be the longest with high temperatures set for the next 10 days.
There was one in May, another in June and now one in July.
In Switzerland it will be hottest in the north and west of the country with temperatures reaching up to 35°C according to MétéoSuisse.
The freezing level in the Alps will be over 4,000m.
Night-time minimum temperatures are expected to range between 15°C and 23°C, depending on the region.
In urban areas it will be warmer at night due to slower heat dissipation.
South of the Alps the high temperatures have already been felt since Sunday.
Maximum temperatures there are ranging between 31°C and 34°C and even higher locally in some valleys in Ticino.
In Locarno, the daily record for July 5th was broken as a temperature of 34°C was recorded, beating the previous record of 33.6°C, set in 1952. We have reported on the earlier heatwaves this summer and their impact on the Alps: There are a handful of glacier ski areas currently open in the Alps and the slopes are deteriorating: Hintertux glacier, Austria.Image © PlanetSKI
Saas-Fee in Switzerland plans to open on 18th July and continue to 31st October.
Researchers monitoring the Rhone Glacier in the Swiss Alps warn that extreme temperatures have accelerated ice loss.
Some areas have lost nearly 1.5m of ice in the last two weeks.
According to scientists the glaciers have lost large amounts of stored water during the recent heatwave raising concerns over the growing impact of climate change.
The early disappearance of snow cover is leaving ancient ice exposed to further melting.
Scientists say the trend highlights the urgent need to address rising global temperatures and extreme weather events.
One initiative, the Waterwise Project, is collecting data from across the Alpine peaks to better understand the vulnerability of headwater catchments — the high-altitude streams that feed the continent’s major rivers.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), says the melting of Alpine glaciers threatens the water supply of mountain communities and the millions of people living downstream.
The Contamines-Montjoie Nature Reserve, near the French side of Mont Blanc, is one of pilot sites of the transnational Waterwise project.
It aims to model how alpine water resources will evolve under different climate scenarios and the various pressures that will affect these ecosystems in the future.
In the Pyrenees the glaciers have all but vanished, but the heatwave has led to huge forest fires in the French part of the mountain range.
In the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France a blaze has burnt 4,600 hectares since Saturday, 4th July, and forced the evacuation of 10,000 people.
“This morning conditions are deteriorating again,” Interior Minister Laurent Nunez cautioned on French TV station TF1 on Wednesday.
“Today the battle resumes.”
Authorities have warned that strong winds could further fan the wildfire.
Tour de France spectators were urged to stay away from the conclusion of the third stage of the cycling race on Monday to allow access for emergency vehicles to the area.
The third stage, which was 121 miles long, began in the Spanish city of Granollers and finished in the ski resort of Les Angles, located in the Pyrénées-Orientales region of France
We will be updating this post as the heatwave continues.
Do check back…
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