World's glaciers are losing record ice as global temperatures climb, UN says

Glaciers around the globe are disappearing faster than ever, with the last three-year period seeing the largest glacial mass loss on record, according to a Unesco report released on March 21.

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GENEVA - Glaciers around the globe are disappearing faster than ever, with the last three-year period seeing the largest glacial mass loss on record, according to a Unesco report released on March 21.

The 9,000 gigatonnes of ice lost from glaciers since 1975 are roughly equivalent to "an ice block the size of Germany with the thickness of 25m", Professor Michael Zemp, director of the Switzerland-based World Glacier Monitoring Service, said during a press conference announcing the report at the UN headquarters in Geneva.

The dramatic ice loss, from the Arctic to the Alps, from South America to the Tibetan Plateau, is expected to accelerate as climate change, caused by the burning of fossil fuels, pushes global temperatures higher.

This would likely exacerbate economic, environmental and social problems across the world, as sea levels rise and these key water sources dwindle.

The report coincides with a Unesco summit in Paris marking the first World Day for Glaciers, urging global action to protect glaciers around the world.

Prof Zemp said that five of the last six years registered the largest losses, with glaciers losing 450 gigatonnes of mass in 2024 alone.