UN Report Confirms, World’s Glaciers Are In Critical Danger

The world’s glaciers have suffered a massive loss for the third consecutive year, with all 19 glacier regions experiencing major shrinkage in 2024, according to the United Nations’ World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The alarming trend underscores the growing impact of climate change, making glacier preservation a matter of survival, WMO chief Celeste Saulo warned.

The WMO report, released on the inaugural World Day for Glaciers, highlights that the planet’s glaciers collectively lost a staggering 450 billion tonnes of mass last year. Data from the Swiss-based World Glacier Monitoring Service (WGMS) confirms that 2024 marked the fourth-worst year on record for glacier loss, with 2023 being the most catastrophic.

Glaciers in Critical Decline Over the Last 50 Years

Between 2022 and 2024, glaciers recorded the largest three-year mass loss in history, the WMO said. The report found that while some regions, such as the Canadian Arctic and Greenland’s peripheral glaciers, experienced moderate mass loss, others like Scandinavia, Norway’s Svalbard archipelago, and North Asia faced record-breaking shrinkage.

Since records began in 1975, glaciers worldwide have lost over 9,000 billion tonnes of ice. WGMS Director Michael Zemp equated this loss to an ice block the size of Germany with a thickness of 25 meters.

Glaciers May Not Survive the 21st Century

At the current melting rate, many glaciers in western Canada, the United States, Scandinavia, central Europe, the Caucasus, and New Zealand may vanish before the end of the 21st century, the WMO warned. This poses a severe threat to global water supplies, as glaciers alongside ice sheets store nearly 70% of the world’s freshwater. Their disappearance could impact millions of people relying on mountain water sources.

The UN has called for urgent action to combat global warming and curb greenhouse gas emissions. “We can negotiate many things, but we cannot negotiate the physical laws of ice melting,” stated Stefan Uhlenbrook, WMO’s water and cryosphere director.

Although he refrained from commenting on the recent return of US President Donald Trump who previously withdrew the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement Uhlenbrook emphasized that ignoring climate change is a short-term convenience that won’t lead to lasting solutions.

A Glacier of the Year Recognized for the First Time

Marking the first-ever World Day for Glaciers, the WGMS named a U.S. glacier as its inaugural “Glacier of the Year,” aiming to raise awareness about the urgent need to protect these vital ice formations.

As the climate crisis intensifies, experts stress the need for global efforts to reduce emissions and slow glacier loss before it’s too late. Without decisive action, the world’s glaciers and the crucial resources they provide may become a thing of the past.

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