Glaciers melting at alarming rate, threatening water supply and raising sea levels
Glaciers worldwide have lost 5 per cent of their total volume over the past two decades, with the rate of melting accelerating. This decline threatens global drinking water supplies and contributes to rising sea levels, according to a study published Wednesday in Nature.
Melting twice as fast
Between 2000 and 2023, glaciers lost 6,542 billion tonnes of ice, an average of 273 billion tonnes per year. However, melting has sped up dramatically, from 232 billion tonnes annually (2000–2011) to 314 billion tonnes (2012–2023), a 36 per cent increase. In 2023 alone, glaciers lost a record 548 billion tonnes. The study also found that glaciers are melting up to twice as fast as the ice caps in Greenland and Antarctica.
The consequences are severe. "It is only a small increase, but with a huge impact," says glaciologist and study co-author Michael Zemp (University of Zurich). Every millimetre of sea level rise exposes 300,000 additional people to flood risk. Since 2000, melting glaciers have contributed 18 millimetres to rising sea levels, making them the leading cause after thermal expansion from warming oceans.
Drinking water
Glacier loss also threatens freshwater supplies. The study notes that 273 billion tonnes of ice lost annually equates to the amount of drinking water the world’s population would consume in 30 years if everyone drank three litres per day.
Scientists warn that glaciers respond slowly to climate change, meaning melting will likely accelerate further. If current trends continue, "there will be no glaciers left in Europe by the end of the century," Zemp cautions.
The research, led by the World Glacier Monitoring Service (WGMS) at the University of Zurich, involved 450 scientists from 35 research groups.
Rhone Glacier with some insulating foam covering a small part to prevent it from melting next to its glacial lake, formed by the melting of the glacier due to global warming. © PHOTO FRABRICE COFFRINI / AFP
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