Glaciers in Europe have retreated by kilometres

The United Nations marks Glacier Day on 21 March. The Barents Observer reports that researchers used the occasion to explain why glaciers matter and what their loss could mean for the planet. The UN has also named 2025 the Year of Glacier Conservation. Some Norwegian glaciers have shortened by up to 2.5 kilometres since the last century began, the Barents Observer reported.

Michael Zemp runs the World Glacier Monitoring Service (WGMS), based at the University of Zurich. He spoke to UN news. He said that when he thinks about his children, he pictures them living in a world that may have no glaciers, and he described that prospect as alarming. He recommended that parents visit glaciers with their children to see the changes under way. He said such a visit also shows the burden being placed on the next generation.

Freya Sykes studies the oceans at UiT (the Arctic University of Norway). She said to the Barents Observer that glacier retreat is a concern because meltwater supplies people, crops and even electricity. She said a total disappearance of glaciers could reduce the amount of drinking water, the water available for farming, and the electricity supply.

A recent report by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) identifies the rise in CO 2 in the atmosphere, caused by humans, as the largest driver of these changes.

Philipp Assmy is a senior researcher with Norsk Polarinstitutt (the Norwegian Polar Institute). He also spoke to the Barents Observer. He said the geological past includes episodes of fast climate change. In that context, he said, fast means changes spread across thousands of years, whereas the present change is happening within decades. He added that no humans lived on Earth millions of years ago, while the world population is now more than 8 billion.