From an early age, I was fascinated by cold mountains with snow and ice. Today, my research and consulting focus on the impacts of global warming on glaciers and permafrost, particularly in relation to natural hazards and long-term environmental change.

I am Professor Emeritus in the Department of Geography at the University of Zurich, Switzerland.

I received my PhD on alpine permafrost from the University of Basel in 1974 and completed my habilitation in glaciology and geomorphology at ETH Zurich in 1985. From 1989 to 1995, I headed the Glaciology Section at the Laboratory of Hydraulics, Hydrology and Glaciology, ETH Zürich. From 1995 to 2013, I was Full Professor of Physical Geography at the University of Zurich, and from 1986 to 2010 I served as Director of the World Glacier Monitoring Service (WGMS).

Between 1996 and 2009, I contributed to the integration of glaciers and permafrost as Essential Climate Variables into the terrestrial component of the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS), an initiative of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the International Council for Science (ICSU).

Over many years, I have been actively involved in the assessment activities of the IPCC in a variety of roles. Together with Colin Whiteman, I co-edited the book „Snow and Ice-Related Hazards, Risks, and Desasters“, first published in 2015 and released in a fully revised second edition in 2021.