Bhubaneswar: Glaciers across the world are disappearing faster than ever, with the past three years witnessing the largest recorded loss of glacial mass, said a report by the UNESCO recently.

Since 1975, glaciers have lost approximately 9,000 gigatons of ice—equivalent to an ice block the size of Germany with a thickness of 25 meters, said Switzerland-based World Glacier Monitoring Service.

The dramatic ice loss, spanning the Arctic, the Alps, South America, and the Tibetan Plateau, is expected to accelerate as climate change—driven by fossil fuel combustion—continues to raise global temperatures. This will likely intensify economic, environmental, and social challenges worldwide, as rising sea levels and dwindling water sources impact millions of people.

The report coincides with a UNESCO summit in Paris marking the first World Day for Glaciers, urging global action to protect these vital ice reserves.

The experts highlighted that five of the last six years have seen the highest recorded glacial losses, with glaciers shedding 450 gigatons of ice in 2024 alone.

This accelerated melting has made mountain glaciers one of the largest contributors to rising sea levels, putting millions at risk of devastating floods and disrupting essential water sources for hydroelectric power and agriculture.

Experts at the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) noted that around 2,75,000 glaciers remain globally. Alongside the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets, these glaciers account for approximately 70 per cent of the world’s freshwater.

About 1.1 billion people live in mountain communities that face the most immediate impacts of glacial loss. These populations are increasingly vulnerable to natural hazards and water shortages, while their remote locations make cost-effective solutions challenging.

 Rising temperatures are expected to worsen droughts in areas dependent on snowpack for freshwater, while also increasing the severity and frequency of hazards such as avalanches, landslides, flash floods, and glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs).

According to scientists, some glacial retreat is occurring even faster than anticipated. Glacial melt in East Africa has led to increased local conflicts over water, according to the UNESCO report. While the region’s contribution to global glacial loss is minimal, the collective impact of melting glaciers worldwide is significant.

 Between 2000 and 2023, melting mountain glaciers contributed 18 millimetres to global sea level rise—roughly 1 mm per year. Each millimetre of sea level rise can expose up to 300,000 people to annual flooding, claimed the experts.

(Note: This story is a part of Punascha Pruthibi - One Earth. Unite for it', an awareness campaign by Sambad Digital)