Glaciers worldwide are disappearing at an unprecedented rate, with the last three years witnessing the highest recorded glacial mass loss, according to a UNESCO report.
Since 1975, 9,000 gigatonnes of ice have vanished—“an ice block the size of Germany with the thickness of 25 meters,” said Michael Zemp, director of the World Glacier Monitoring Service.
The loss is intensifying due to climate change, driven by fossil fuel emissions and is expected to accelerate further.
This poses severe economic, environmental and social risks, as sea levels rise and vital freshwater sources dwindle.
In 2024 alone, glaciers lost 450 gigatonnes of ice, making them a major contributor to rising sea levels. “Five of the last six years registered the largest losses,” said Zemp.
Mountain communities, home to 1.1 billion people, are already feeling the impact, facing unreliable water supplies, droughts, flash floods and avalanches.
“Billions of people are connected to glaciers, whether they know it or not and that will require billions of people to protect them.”
Heidi Sevestre, Glaciologist
In East Africa, glacial melt is intensifying conflicts over water, while the glaciers in Uganda’s Rwenzori Mountains may vanish by 2030.
With every millimetre of sea level rise exposing up to 300,000 people to flooding, urgent action is needed.
