Up to 1,000 glaciers vanishing each year, loss may triple by 2040: study
1,000 glaciers melting every year: Scientists
Zurich | Desk: The Earth is rapidly becoming ice-free due to global warming. In the last two decades, at least 4,000 glaciers have disappeared forever. Scientists estimate that even if carbon emissions are controlled, the melting of glaciers will not stop. In fact, it will accelerate in the coming years.
Lander von Tricht and his team of researchers at ETH Zurich University in Switzerland recently conducted a study that used climate models to predict the fate of more than 200,000 glaciers worldwide.
According to the research, an average of 1,000 glaciers are melting into water every year. This number could triple in the next 15 years. That is, by 2040, 3,000 glaciers could disappear every year. If the temperature rises by 2.7 degrees Celsius this century, 79 percent of glaciers will be gone by 2100. Even if the temperature is kept below 2 degrees, 63 percent of glaciers will not survive.
If the temperature reaches 4 degrees, 91 percent of glaciers will disappear. Even in the 1.5-degree scenario, 55 percent of glaciers will vanish by the end of the century.
Researcher David Rounce, associated with Carnegie Mellon University, says, "We will lose many glaciers, but there is still a chance to save some." Von Tricht explains that larger glaciers take longer to melt, so they will be affected later. But most of the peaks in Western Canada, the mountainous regions of the US, and the Alps could become glacier-free.
This crisis is not just about ice, but about the entire world. Melting glaciers could raise sea levels by up to 25 centimeters this century. Areas dependent on rivers and lakes will face water shortages, and agriculture will be affected. Furthermore, sudden outflows of water from glacial lakes will increase the risk of flooding. In 2023, a glacial lake outburst flood in Sikkim, India, claimed the lives of 55 people. The last remaining glacier in Venezuela, South America, is also under threat.
The United Nations has declared 2025 the "International Year of Glacier Preservation," highlighting the severity of the problem. The 2015 Paris Agreement aimed to limit global warming to 1.5-2 degrees Celsius, but a decade later, we are still on the same trajectory. Scientists are warning that efforts to curb carbon emissions must be intensified, otherwise, the Earth will become ice-free.
