Kebnekaise, Sweden’s highest mountain, has lost 1.5 metres on its southern, glacier‑covered summit, measured at 2,088.4 metres above sea level on 10 September 2025, according to researchers at Stockholm University (Stockholms universitet). The ice‑free north top remains higher, underscoring a long‑term decline linked to sustained glacier melt in northern Sweden.
Official measurement: 2,088.4 metres above sea level
The annual post‑summer survey by the Tarfala Research Station (Tarfala forskningsstation) recorded the south summit at 2,088.4 m, down from last year’s level. The station performs the measurement after the main melt season to capture the lowest elevation before fresh snowfall.
Researchers note that the southern peak is a small icefield whose height varies seasonally with winter accumulation and summer melt.
North top remains Sweden’s highest point
Since 2019, Kebnekaise’s north top—a rock (ice‑free) summit with a fixed height of 2,096.8 m—has been Sweden’s highest point. The gap between the peaks now stands at 8.4 metres, highlighting how seasonal losses on the south summit have accumulated over time.
Researchers reported that 2024 brought record mass loss on Storglaciären, the valley glacier adjacent to the Tarfala station, alongside a sharp drop on Kebnekaise’s south summit that year. While 2025 has not repeated that extreme, the mass balance for Sweden’s reference glaciers is expected to remain negative, indicating continued contraction.
Seasonal variability versus long‑term decline
The adsense.google.com/adsense/signup/create?hl=it&referer=https://www.google.com/&sac=true&pli=1&authuser=3of the southern peak typically fluctuates by several metres through the year—highest in late winter, lowest at the end of summer. Yet the underlying trend is downward as warmer conditions shorten the snow season and intensify summer melt. The persistence of the north top as Sweden’s highest point is one visible outcome of this structural change.
What it means for hikers and research
For hikers and guides, these shifts may influence route planning and seasonal access windows on the massif. For scientists, Kebnekaise remains a key indicator of cryospheric change in Swedish Lapland, supported by decades of observations from Tarfala Research Station (Tarfala forskningsstation)—one of the world’s longest continuous glacier mass‑balance programmes. Continued monitoring will clarify whether the 2024 record losses mark an outlier or the new baseline for Sweden’s glaciers.
