Rhône Glacier, Switzerland - Photos taken by a British couple vacationing in Switzerland showed in dramatic detail just how much ice a famous Swiss glacier has lost in the last two decades dominated by global warming.

In a post on X, Duncan and Helen Porter shared a side-by-side image of their visit to the Rhône Glacier, first in 2009 and then in 2024.

The couple expected to capture a stunning memory fifteen years in the making. Yet, when they arrived, they were left in shock at what they saw.

The glacier, which had previously covered most of the hill behind the viewing point, is now a shadow of its former self, with gray rocks and a lake where ice used to be.

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"Fifteen years minus one day between these photos. Taken at the Rhône glacier in Switzerland today," Duncan Porter wrote on X. "Not gonna lie, it made me cry."

As humanity continues to pump fossil fuels into the atmosphere, the impact on the environment is becoming ever more stark.

According to the Swiss Academy of Sciences and Glacier Monitoring Switzerland, 10% of Swiss glaciers were wiped out in 2022 and 2023 alone.

The loss is largely driven by the rapid warming of Europe, which has seen the world's most dramatic increase in temperatures over recent years, with approximately 2.3 degrees Celsius in warming.

What's more, record-low snowfall and increasing rainfall has played a role in dramatically reducing ice coverage and melting the vast glaciers seen in the Swiss Alps.

"The acceleration is dramatic: We have lost as much ice in two years as between 1960 and 1990," the Swiss Academy of Sciences said. "Swiss glaciers are melting faster and faster."