The value of beauty Switzerland’s national identity is intertwined with the Alps and their glaciers. The Swiss national anthem even refers to the mountains glowing bright with splendour in the red morning skies. But what if the Alps were one day reduced to nothing but desolate grey rocks and scree? Author Marcel Hänggi, who has covered the climate crisis as a journalist for over 20 years, addresses this question in his recently published book “Das Schöne, das verloren geht” (When beauty is lost). Driven by “grief at the devastation that humans have caused”, Hänggi looks at what we lose by destroying the environment, and why beauty hardly plays any role in the political and scientific debate. Can beauty be a reliable basis for making decisions? “Difficult to say,” he concedes. Yet the beauty of nature is relevant, “because we are quite obviously unable to protect the environment when we only consider the environment’s instrumental value.” In his wide-ranging essay, Hänggi moves the discussion beyond the notion of nature being something that is merely useful. “Without beauty, life is no longer deserving of its name.” (TP) DAS SCHÖNE, DAS VERLOREN GEHT. MARCEL HÄNGGI. ROTPUNKTVERLAG, 2026 “Seeing glaciers disappear before our eyes, we realise what is at stake,” says glaciologist Matthias Huss, head of the Glacier Monitoring in Switzerland network, known as GLAMOS. Photo: Keystone Climate change has also taken its toll on big glaciers. The Rhône Glacier is retreating further and further, leaving a lake where the ice has melted. Photo: Keystone up. “I remember thinking it would be impossible for the snow to melt completely by autumn.” Two hot summer months later, and the snow had gone. “Ultimately, summer is the key factor causing glacial melt.” The big glaciers are also melting Extreme years have a particularly devastating impact on small glaciers, causing them to disintegrate into smaller sections or disappear completely. Huss has himself witnessed the gradual disappearance of the Pizol glacier in the canton of St Gallen, which he has visited around 50 times in the last 20 years to take readings. “After 2022, all that was left was a rolling plateau of rocks and scree.” Switzerland’s biggest Alpine glaciers – the Aletsch Glacier in the Jungfrau region, and the Gorner Glacier near the Monte Rosa massif – suffer a moderate annual loss in thickness of around two metres, barely apparent to the naked eye. Both glaciers are hundreds of metres deep. “But if you stand in front of one of the glacier tongues, you notice the difference from one year to the next,” says Huss. The front of the Rhône Glacier Glacier Monitoring in Switzerland (GLAMOS) www.glamos.ch More glacier photos: www.revue.link/ice “Seeing them disappear before our eyes, we realise what is at stake.” Matthias Huss, glaciologist is a prime example. “The ice there has retreated a long way back, leaving a lake where it has melted.” According to Huss, the survival of high-lying glaciers depends on “whether the world turns the tide on climate change”. If we can limit global warming to 1.5°C, “then these glaciers can retreat to higher altitudes”. But this scenario is becoming increasingly unlikely. “We are currently on course for a 2.7°C increase in global temperatures. Climate projections even show the Alps getting warmer by 4°C.” If recent extreme years become the default, “it is quite possible that the ice will disappear completely even at altitudes above 4,000 metres by the end of the century.” The outlook is depressing, but the glaciologist is undeterred. In fact, Huss believes documenting the great changes in the Alps is an opportunity. “We can harness the evocative force of glaciers to illustrate climate change.” Glaciers resonate with many people, be it due to childhood memories or holidays spent in the mountains. “Seeing them disappear before our eyes, we realise what is at stake.” Swiss Review / October 2026 / No. 4 7
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