Melting glaciers are a key indicator of the human-influenced changes to our climate. A recent study shows just how quickly glaciers are melting.
An international team of researchers from the Glacier Mass Balance Intercomparison Exercise found that glaciers have lost about 5% of their ice around the globe since 2000.
Fanny Brun, a glaciologist and an author of the study, explained in an article by Le Monde that different regions had more resistance to ice melt. However, "this natural variability is being crushed everywhere by the impact of global warming."
What's happening?
Glaciers around the world have been losing significant ice mass.
From 2000 to 2023, glaciers around the globe lost the "equivalent of three Olympic swimming pools [of ice] every second," per Le Monde.
The Glacier Mass Balance Intercomparison Exercise team's study found that the rate of ice loss increased by about 36% from 2000-2011 to 2012-2023. This indicates that glaciers are melting more quickly than before.
According to Etienne Berthier, another glaciologist-author quoted in Le Monde, glaciers in the Alps and the Pyrenees lost 10% of their ice in 2022 and 2023.
Why are glaciers important?
Melting glacier ice contributes to global sea level rise. Coastal cities in the United States could be hit the hardest. Miami has already had to deal with negative impacts of sea level rise, with heavy rainfall also contributing to flooding conditions.
Decreasing pollution to reduce warming and sea level rise is important for mitigating the worst impacts of climate change on coastal cities. A recent study found that sea levels could rise anywhere from about a foot to more than 6 feet by 2100 depending on how much pollution we contribute to the environment in the coming decades.
Taking steps to mitigate climate change will benefit more than humans. Polar bears have long been the emblem of a changing Arctic region. But melting ice impacts everything from animals as big as the polar bear to organisms as small as sea algae.
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Definitely 👍 What's being done about glaciers melting?
The Paris climate agreement, which was adopted by almost 200 countries in December 2015, is the most ambitious international agreement to reduce global temperature increases. The goal of the agreement is to keep temperature increases well below 2 degrees Celsius (about 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) compared to preindustrial levels, with efforts to limit the increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit). This is the point at which we might avoid the worst effects of climate change.
To reduce our planet's increasing temperatures, we have to decrease our pollution from energy sources such as coal, oil, and natural gas.
One way to reduce our reliance on these energy sources is to turn to clean energy. Cleaner energy sources include solar panels, wind energy, and geothermal energy.
You can also use your voice to advocate for positive change to help the environment.
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