Avalanches Help Glaciers Survive

1st February 2026

A new international scientific survey claims avalanches play a crucial role in the survival of many glaciers which are disappearing due to the warming planet.

In some regions, over a fifth of the snow covering glaciers – and compensating for their melting – comes from avalanches.

This is the conclusion of an international study led by the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL).

For the first time it quantified the impact of avalanches on the planet’s roughly 200,000 glaciers.

The analysis was based on satellite measurements and models that calculate glacier evolution and snow mass movements.

“Avalanches are impressive and dangerous phenomena. Until now, we had no idea of their influence on glaciers,” Marin Kneib, a WSL glaciologist and lead author of the study, told Swiss public radio RTS.

“Now we know that avalanches are an important factor for glaciers.”

See more here on Swiss Info

Mont Fort glacier, Switzerland. Image © PlanetSKI

The WSL study found that globally, 3% of the snow accumulating on glaciers comes from avalanches. The contribution varies by region and glacier, reaching about 11% in the Alps.

In the eastern Himalayas, the share rises to 19%, and 22% in New Zealand, according to the analysis. “We were surprised. We didn’t expect the effect to be so significant in the Alps and globally,” Kneib commented.

In some cases, especially on smaller glaciers, over 50% of the snow originates from avalanches.