The Swiss Aletsch Glacier has been melting by more than 10cm a day

The largest glacier in the Alps has endured its warmest summer on record, shrinking twice as fast as previously thought, experts have said.

The Aletsch Glacier in Switzerland, which is more than 23km (14 miles) long, has been melting at a rate of more than 10cm a day this summer. Record snowfalls last winter led to hopes that a layer of snow would remain on the glacier’s surface throughout the summer, protecting it from melting.

The Europe-wide heatwave dashed such hopes. The extreme temperatures resulted in the glacier being free of snow by early July, almost a month earlier than in recent years, with the speed of the melt exacerbated by a warm and dry spring.

“The Swiss glaciers will experience a massive loss again