Global glacier change in the 21st century: Every increase in temperature matters

Melting Away: Half the World’s Glaciers Projected to Disappear with 1.5 Degrees of Warming In the Himalayas, not far from the base of Mount Everest, lies the Imja-Lhotse Shar Glacier, where David Rounce conducted his doctoral research. From 2013 to 2017, Rounce and his team visited Nepal to measure the glacier as it rapidly receded — and as the lake at its base grew. Rounce is the lead author of a January 2023 study in the journal Science that projects that the world’s glaciers could lose as much as 40% of their mass by 2100. The study found that with 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming, 50% of the world’s glaciers would disappear and contribute 3.5 inches to sea level rise by 2100. If the world reaches 2.7 degrees of warming — the estimated temperature increase based on climate pledges made at the Conference of Parties of the UN Framework Convention for Climate Change — nearly all glaciers in Central Europe, western Canada, and the U.S. (including Alaska) will have melted. If warming reaches 4 degrees Celsius, 80% of the world's glaciers will disappear and contribute 6 inches of sea level rise. Glaciers in remote regions — far from human activities — are particularly powerful indicators of climate change. Rapidly melting glaciers impact freshwater availability, landscapes, tourism, ecosystems, the frequency and severity of hazards, and sea level rise. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abo1324#editor-abstract Global Ice Viewer Sentinels of Climate Change Ice, which covers 10 percent of Earth's surface, is disappearing rapidly. Select a topic below to see how climate change has affected glaciers, sea ice, and continental ice sheets worldwide. https://climate.nasa.gov/interactives/global-ice-viewer/#/