UN warns: "Unprecedented" glacier loss due to climate change
Shafaq News/ Global glacier melt has reached record levels, with the past three years marking the largest ice mass loss ever recorded, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) said on Friday.
Michael Zemp, head of the World Glacier Monitoring Service, also said at a press conference in Geneva that glaciers have lost 9,000 gigatons of ice since 1975 — roughly equivalent to a "huge ice block of the size of Germany with a thickness of 25 meters."
Five of the past six years saw record losses, including 450 gigatons of ice in 2024 alone, Zemp said. The melting is expected to accelerate further across regions including the Arctic, the Alps, South America and the Tibetan Plateau, as global temperatures rise due to climate change.
Glacier retreat is already contributing to rising sea levels, increasing the risk of flooding for millions and threatening freshwater systems that support agriculture and hydropower for billions. Glaciers, along with ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica, account for around 70% of the world’s freshwater reserves.
The findings were released ahead of a UNESCO summit in Paris marking the first International Day of Glaciers, where officials are expected to call for coordinated international action to preserve remaining glacier systems.
🗻 Join us for the first-ever #WorldGlaciersDay and commemoration of #WorldWaterDay!Glaciers are the guardians of the Earth's future. Learn how we can protect these frozen giants ⬇️📅 21 March 2025⏰ 10am EDT📺 https://t.co/QZKKjXAh57🔗 https://t.co/zKyJzRyWv4 pic.twitter.com/f7ZWvnL6bd
— UN DESA (@UNDESA) March 20, 2025
