Glaciers are melting at an alarming pace due to global warming and in many regions the reserves of “eternal ice” will not survive the 21st century, endangering hundreds of millions of lives inhabiting downstream areas.
This alarming new revelation stems from reports from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the World Glacier Monitoring Service (WGMS). According to WMO, five of the past six years have witnessed the most rapid glacier retreat on record.
The years 2022-2024 witnessed the largest three-year loss of glacier mass on record.
More than 275,000 glaciers worldwide cover approximately 700,000 km². Together with ice sheets, glaciers store about 70% of the global freshwater resources. They are striking indicators of climate change, as they typically remain about the same size in a stable climate.
High mountain regions are the world’s water towers. Depletion of glaciers therefore threatens supplies to hundreds of millions of people who live downstream and depend on the release of water stored over past winters during the hottest and driest parts of the year. In the short-term, glacier melt increases natural hazards like floods.
With rising temperatures and global warming triggered by human-induced climate change, the ice reserves are melting at unprecedented speed, said Sulagna Mishra, Scientific Officer at the Geneva-based World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
In the 500-mile-long Hindu Kush mountain range, located in the western Himalayas and stretching from Afghanistan to Pakistan, the livelihoods of more than 120 million farmers are under threat from glacial loss, Ms. Mishra warned.
Last year, glaciers in Scandinavia, the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard and North Asia experienced the largest annual loss of overall mass on record.
Glaciologists determine the state of a glacier by measuring how much snow falls on it and how much melt occurs every year, according to UN partner the World Glacier Monitoring Service (WGMS) at the University of Zurich.
Last year, glaciers in Scandinavia, the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard and North Asia experienced the largest annual loss of overall mass on record.
The mountain range has been dubbed the “third pole” because of the extraordinary water resources it holds, she noted.
The World Glacier Monitoring Service estimates that since 2020, annual global glacier loss amounts to 30 years of global water consumption. During this period, glacier melt contributed 18 millimetres to global sea-level rise, increasing the risk of coastal flooding for hundreds of thousands of people.
Glaciers have lost a total of more than 9,000 gigatonnes since 1975. This is the equivalent of a huge block of ice block the size of Germany with a thickness of 25 meters.
“This accelerated melting increases disaster risks, threatens ecosystems and disrupts the water cycle. Unfortunately, glacier retreat endangers existing water supplies of millions of people, putting at risk drinking water supply, food security, and energy production. Every fraction of a degree of warming matters,” said Celeste Saulo.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for enacting strong national climate action plans to preserve “these Frozen Lifelines for Humanity.”
“Glaciers may be shrinking, but we cannot shrink from our responsibilities,” the UN chief said in a message for the occasion.
“As glaciers melt,” he added, “they quench the thirst of communities, sustain ecosystems, and support agriculture, industry and clean energy. But scorching temperatures are draining these vaults at record speed — from the Himalayas to the Andes, from the Alps to the Arctic.
“Deadly floods are being unleashed, impacting billions of people, in cities and rural areas alike. Low-lying communities and entire countries are facing existential threats, while competition for water and land is aggravating tensions.”
