Urgent Alert: Glaciers Melting at Record Speed—What It Means for Our Planet

By Mark Poynting, Climate and Environment Researcher

Glaciers worldwide are melting faster than ever due to climate change, according to recent research. These icy giants are essential for many people, serving as a significant source of freshwater. If all the glaciers were to melt, they would raise global sea levels by 32 cm (almost 13 inches).

Since the start of the 21st century, glaciers have lost more than 6,500 billion tonnes of ice, which is about 5% of their total volume. Alarmingly, the rate of melting has picked up speed. Between 2011 and 2021, glacier losses were over one-third higher than in the previous decade.

This insightful study combined data from over 230 estimates made by 35 research teams globally. This effort has given scientists a clearer picture of the rapid changes occurring in glaciers and how they may change in the future.

Glaciers help scientists understand climate change. In a stable climate, they don’t change much, gaining as much snow as they lose through melting. However, with rising temperatures, especially from human activities like burning fossil fuels, glaciers have been shrinking for about 20 years. Between 2000 and 2023, glaciers outside of Greenland and Antarctica lost around 270 billion tonnes of ice every year. To put this into perspective, this amount could supply the entire global population with water for three years, assuming each person uses 3 liters a day.

In some regions, the impact has been severe. For instance, Central Europe has seen a 39% loss of glacier ice in just over two decades. This study, published in the journal Nature, not only confirms the accelerating melt but also highlights the collaborative effort from various researchers to gather and analyze data.

There are several ways to study glaciers, from direct measurements to satellite data. Each method has pros and cons. Direct measurements might give detailed information but cover only a small fraction of the world’s glaciers. By combining all these approaches, scientists can better understand current changes.

These findings are crucial for governments, climate scientists, and industries, especially those concerned about the effects of global warming.

Glaciers need time to react to climate changes—anywhere from a few years to several decades. This means they’ll continue to melt in the future. How much ice will be lost by century’s end will depend on how much carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases we emit. If we can limit warming to meet global climate targets, we might lose just a quarter of the world’s glacier ice. However, uncontrolled warming could lead to nearly half of that loss.

“Each fraction of a degree that we can prevent will save glaciers and help us avoid major damage,” says Professor Michael Zemp, one of the study’s authors.

The melting glaciers will have far-reaching consequences. Many people rely on their seasonal meltwater, which acts like a natural reservoir. When glaciers disappear, so does the water supply, affecting millions. Global sea levels are already rising, leading to more frequent flooding in coastal areas. Each centimeter increase exposes an additional 2 million people to annual flooding risks.

So far, global sea levels have risen over 20 cm (about 8 inches) since 1900, with rapid increases occurring since the early 1990s. We must take these findings seriously to protect both our local environments and global ecosystems.

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