Five of the last six years have been marked by the fastest glacier retreat in recorded history. In 2022-2024, the largest three-year loss of glacier mass in recorded history was observed, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), a specialized UN organization, reports UNN.
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"The WMO report confirms that between 2022 and 2024 we have seen the largest three-year loss of glaciers in recorded history. Seven of the ten years with the highest negative mass balance have occurred since 2016," said WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo.
According to estimates by the World Glacier Monitoring Service (WGMS), based on observational data from around the world, glaciers (excluding continental ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica) have lost a total of more than 9 trillion tons since record keeping began in 1975.
"This is equivalent to a huge block of ice the size of Germany and 25 meters thick," says Professor Dr. Michael Zemp, Director of WGMS.
2024 hydrological year was the third consecutive year in which all 19 glacier regions experienced a net decrease in mass. In 2024 hydrological year, glacier mass loss was 450 billion tons - the fourth consecutive year with the largest negative balance in recorded history. While mass loss was relatively moderate in regions such as the Arctic regions of Canada or the periphery of Greenland, glaciers in Scandinavia, Svalbard and Northern Asia experienced the largest annual mass loss in recorded history.
At the same time, a study on the intercomparison of glacier mass balance (Glacier Mass Balance Intercomparison Exercise (GlaMBIE) showed that between 2000 and 2023 glaciers lost 5% of their remaining ice. Regionally, losses range from 2% in Antarctica and sub-Antarctic islands to almost 40% in Central Europe.
At the current rate of melting, many glaciers in Western Canada and the United States, Scandinavia, Central Europe, the Caucasus, New Zealand and the tropics will not survive the 21st century.
According to the study, from 2000 to 2023, the global loss of glacier mass was 6,542 billion tons, or 273 billion tons of ice per year. This is equivalent to the consumption of the entire planet's population in 30 years, based on a calculation of three liters per person per day.
During this period, glacier melt contributed to a global sea level rise of 18 mm.
"This may seem insignificant, but it has a big impact: every millimeter of sea level rise exposes another 200-300 thousand people to annual flooding," says Zemp.
Glaciers are now the second largest contributor to global sea level rise after ocean warming.