Swiss village near Zermatt on high alert as glacier collapse looms

A potentially serious landslide caused by a glacier collapse is threatening a small Swiss village in canton Valais. Local authorities in Randa, not far from Zermatt, have raised the danger level to three, the second-highest. A landslide could reach the marked danger zone within the “coming days”. 

Impending glacier threat in Valais

Gemeinde Randa has instructed residents not to enter a potentially dangerous area until further notice. "The situation is being analysed several times a day by specialists," explained mayor Frédéric Imboden, as reported by Blick. Residential homes are not yet being evacuated.

Local public transport routes, such as the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn (MGBahn) and regional buses, are still operating normally, although sections of popular hiking routes, such as the Europaweg trail, in Valais are closed due to safety concerns. 

The impending ice avalanche threat comes from a hanging glacier on the east of the Weisshorn mountain peak, which has seen “significantly increased movements” recently. A hanging glacier (a Hängegletscher or glacier suspendu), according to the US National Snow and Ice Data Centre (NSIDC), is “a glacier that terminates at or near the top of a cliff.” 

If the glacier collapses, it could trigger ice and debris to fall into the village below. A similar event happened in the village of Blatten in May 2025. The collapse of the Birch Glacier, triggered by rockfall from the Kleines Nesthorn (Petit Nesthorn), destroyed much of the evacuated Swiss village and one man died.

Extreme summer heat impacting Swiss Alpine regions

Experts warn that the excessively hot weather seen this summer, driven by climate change, will directly affect Switzerland’s ecosystem. The recent dry, hot temperatures made it “one of the worst summers since measurements began,” explained Matthias Huss, glaciologist at ETH Zurich. Approximately 30 glaciers in Switzerland could melt by this autumn. 

“Melting of the ice sheet and the thawing of permafrost can also weaken rock and glacial formations,” explained Blick, although there isn’t yet a proven link between the summer heatwave and the current situation in Weisshorn.