US EditionStudy: 3,000 Glaciers to Vanish Yearly by 2040s
Annual glacier loss could reach 4,000 by mid-2050s under a 4°C warming scenario, three to five times the current rate, study finds.
- On Monday, an ETH Zurich-led study in Nature Climate Change found that under the roughly 2.7°C trajectory, about 3,000 glaciers will vanish annually between 2040 and 2060.
- Researchers used a global satellite database of 211,490 glaciers to model extinction when area falls below 0.01 square kilometers or 1% of ~2000 volume.
- Under the 1.5°C scenario, models show the peak occurs around 2041 with roughly 2,000 glaciers lost yearly, while small-glacier regions like the European Alps could lose half their glaciers within 20 years.
- Communities that rely on glacier-fed water face risks as glacier melt could boost sea levels by 25 centimetres this century and reduce irrigation, tourism, and ski industries supporting two billion people.
- Current pledges point to about 2.7°C of warming, meaning by 2100 only about 20% of glaciers remain versus around 50% at 1.5°C, with governments and policymakers determining emissions trajectories.
61 Articles
61 Articles
New research has raised concerns among conservationists and scientists worldwide, revealing that the number of glaciers disappearing each year could increase to 2,000–4,000 by the middle of this century if global temperatures continue to rise.
Research published in the scientific journal Nature Climate Change finds that without immediate action against climate change, thousands of glaciers could disappear each year by mid-century.
Earth Is Barreling Toward 'Peak Glacier Extinction'
A new study estimates the planet is heading toward a midcentury peak in glacier loss, with thousands of ice masses set to vanish each year as temperatures climb. Researchers writing in Nature Climate Change modeled the fate of more than 200,000 glaciers worldwide and identified a period they call...
Peak glacier extinction in the mid-twenty-first century - Nature Climate Change
Projections of glacier change typically focus on mass and area loss, yet the disappearance of individual glaciers directly threatens culturally, spiritually and touristically significant landscapes. Here, using three global glacier models, we project a sharp rise in the number of glaciers disappearing worldwide, peaking between 2041 and 2055 with up to ~4,000 glaciers vanishing annually. Regional variability reflects differences in average glaci…
Eurek Alert
Scientific InquirerThe Alps to lose a record number of glaciers in the next decade
How much longer will glaciers survive? A new study from ETH Zurich researchers offers the first detailed projection of how many glaciers could vanish by the year 2100 due to global warming – and why regions such as Switzerland will be most affected. This approach could also help policymakers, the tourism industry and natural hazard management plan for the future.
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