The first World Day for Glaciers is less a celebration than a reckoning as years of record, rapid glacier retreat means many will not survive the 21st century.
Tourists now visit glaciers to see them before they are gone, including here at the Rhone Glacier in Switzerland Image: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images
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Five of the past six years have witnessed the most rapid glacier retreat on record, according to new research by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the World Glacier Monitoring Service (WGMS).
Vast mountain glacial flows created in the ice age in the US, Canada, Scandinavia, Central Europe, New Zealand and beyond, will be lucky to see the end of the century say researchers who warn of "cascading impacts" on economies, ecosystems, and communities downstream.
Since records began in 1975, glaciers have reduced by more than 9,000 billion tons, according to Michael Zemp, director of the WGMS.
The loss in that time is equivalent to a "huge ice block of the size of Germany" that is 25 meters thick, he said.
Mount Kenya, Africa's second-highest peak, is home to rapidly shrinking glaciers that are vital for nearby ecosystems and communitiesImage: LUIS TATO/AFP
In response to this alarming retreat, 2025 was proclaimed the International Year of Glaciers' Preservation by the United Nations General Assembly, which also established the first annual World Day for Glaciers on March 21. The goal was to increase awareness of the fundamental role glaciers, snow and ice play in climate and water or hydrological cycles.
The downstream impacts of glacial meltdown
The planet is home to 275,000 high mountain glaciers, which together with continental ice sheetsin Greenland and Antarctica,store about 70% of the world's freshwater resources.
This water flows torural areas, towns and cities when high glaciers that are frozen over in winter start to melt inspring and summer. When these "water towers" decrease over time, a vital source of fresh water for millions of people is also lost.
Glacial decline is also making natural hazards like floods more extreme. Warming glacial lakes can easily break their banks, leading to catastrophic flash flooding. A 2023 glacial burst in the Himalayan state of Sikkim in northeast India killed at least 55 people and washed away a major hydropower dam.
Pakistani villagers face climate change, melting glaciers
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A glacial lake in the Andes mountains in Peru is steadily rising, with one study finding its water levels have increased 34-fold between 1990 and 2010 alone. A local farmer, Saul Luciano Lliuya, is famously suing a German energy company, RWE, for causing the climate change that could cause his home and village to be flooded.
How glacier melt is impacting sea levels
The water from melting glaciers is finding its way into the world's oceans to become the second biggest contributor to sea level rise after warming ocean temperatures, which causes water to expand.
WMO researchers note that the rate of global sea level rise has more than doubled since satellite measurements began in 1993. While this only amounted to an 18 mm increase globally, even that has a compounding impact — especially on low-lying island communities.
"Every millimeter of sea-level rise exposes an additional 200,000 to 300,000 people to annual flooding," said Zemp.
It also has "cascading damaging impacts on coastal ecosystems and infrastructure, with further impacts from flooding and saltwater contamination of groundwater," read a statement announcing the WMO's latest State of the Global Climate report, which was also published this week.
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Climate change driving glacial melt
The report also confirmed that 2024 was likely the first calendar year with temperatures of more than 1.5 (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above the pre-industrial era — when humans began burning coal and oil at scale.
Because average temperatures are measured over decades rather than single years, this does not mean the aims of the Paris Agreement to keep global heating within the 1.5 C threshold have failed. But WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo described the findings as "a wake-up call that we are increasing the risks to our lives, economies and to the planet."
Rising temperatures linked to climate change are largely caused by emissions from fossil fuels.
The unprecedented temperature rise in 2024 coincided with the third year in a row in which all 19 glacier regions surveyed in the report experienced a net loss of ice mass. Glaciers in Scandinavia, Svalbard in the Arctic, and North Asia experienced their largest annual mass loss on record in 2024.
While the WMO report suggests strengthening warning systems to adapt to impacts like extreme flash flooding, the aim is also to limit glacial retreat by keeping the Paris climate targets within reach.
"Preservation of glaciers is a not just an environmental, economic and societal necessity. It's a matter of survival," said Saulo.
Edited by: Tamsin Walker
Rising sea levels: Are some regions doomed?
From Asia to the Americas, sea levels are rising worldwide due to man-made climate change. Which regions are particularly at risk — and how are the affected countries dealing with the threat?
Image: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images
Tuvalu: Expulsion from paradise
Far away in the South Pacific lies Tuvalu — for now. Experts fear that the archipelago could sink completely. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), sea levels will rise by up to 1 meter (3 feet) this century which would be fatal for Tuvalu. The country has concluded an agreement with Australia, according to which 280 Tuvaluans can emigrate there every year.
Image: Mario Tama/Getty Images
Maldives: Built on sand
The Maldives is the lowest country on earth — and could be the first to disappear due to rising sea levels. Sand is therefore being piled up around the capital island of Male, one of the most densely populated regions in the world. This is also how the artificial island of Hulhumale, which can be seen here, was created. Its purpose is to offer refuge to the local population when Male is flooded.
Image: Sebnem Coskun/Andalou/picture alliance
Fiji: Frightening future
Experts estimate that 630 million people worldwide could be directly affected by rising sea levels by the end of the century. This is devastating for island states. Not only Tuvalu, but also Kiribati, Tonga and Samoa could disappear within a few decades, leaving their populations homeless. Here in Fiji, more than 600 communities would be forced to relocate.
Image: SAEED KHAN/AFP/Getty Images
Indonesia: Capital under water
In Asia, sea levels are rising faster than the global average and are threatening the urban centers on the coasts. Indonesia has already drawn conclusions from this and moved the capital from Jakarta, whose skyline shimmers above the waves here, to higher Borneo. 40% of Jakarta lies below sea level. By 2050, the north of the metropolis could be completely under water.
Image: BAY ISMOYO/AFP/Getty Images
Bangladesh: Poor position
Its location on the Bay of Bengal in the delta of several large rivers makes Bangladesh prone to flooding. Rising sea levels exacerbate the situation. It affects all coastal regions of the world, but the hardest hit are countries that cannot afford coastal protection. Bangladesh is one of the poorest countries in the world.
Image: Middle East Images/AFP/Getty Images
United States: Wet feet on Wall Street
An unfavorable combination: Currently only 10 meters (32 feet) above sea level, New York is sinking by one millimeter per year, while the water level is rising by three to four millimeters. Manhattan, especially, will be affected by flooding in future. Other metropolitan areas on the US East Coast, such as Baltimore and Miami, are struggling with the same problem.
Image: Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty Images
Panama: Curse of the Caribbean
On the way to a new life: Around 300 indigenous families left the small island of Gardi Sugdub in May to live in a newly built settlement on Panama's north coast. According to experts, Gardi Sugdub will sink into the Atlantic by 2050. As in Asia, sea levels in Latin America and the Caribbean are rising faster than the global average.
Image: Matias Delacroix/AP Photo/picture alliance
Venice: Atlantis of the Adriatic
Acqua Alta, high water, is part of everyday life in Venice. But by 2100, St. Mark's Square threatens to be constantly under water. Researchers predict a sea level rise of more than 1 meter in the region.For a few years now, the "Mose" flood system has been protecting Venice from extreme flooding with 78 flood gates — but experts doubt that Mose can protect the lagoon city in the long term.
Image: imagoDens/Zoonar/picture alliance
Germany: Defying the North Sea
1,000 kilometers (621 miles) of dykes protect Germany on the North Sea alone and they remain the number one coastal protection measure. Now, dykes are being reinforced along the entire coast and are to be expanded into so-called climate dykes. These are not only higher, but also flatter and wider, which should reduce the damage caused by the impact of waves during storm surges.
Image: Marcus Brandt/dpa/picture-alliance
Netherlands: Country below sea level
Shallow, shallower, Holland: Two thirds of the Netherlands is at sea level or even below. The country invests heavily in flood protection, but many dams reach their limits in the event of a sharp rise in sea level. The Maeslant storm surge barrier in Rotterdam, which was built in 1997, can only withstand a rise of half-a-meter.
Image: imago images/ANP
Senegal: 'Africa's Venice' is sinking
Because of its lagoon location and historic old town, Saint Louis in Senegal is also known as the "Venice of Africa." However, it shares the threat of rising sea levels with the world-famous Italian city: 20,000 people have already lost their homes here. The United Nations is relocating those affected further inland.
Image: SEYLLOU/AFP/Getty Images
'Worldwide catastrophe'
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warns of a "worldwide catastrophe" in view of rising sea levels. If global warming can be limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius (34.7 degrees Fahrenheit), the rise would "only" be 30 to 60 centimeters according to climate models. Beyond that, millions of people could lose their homes. The onus is on the industrialized countries, which emit most of the emissions.
