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UN declares 2025 International Year of Glaciers’ preservation

ByJayashree Nandi
Jan 17, 2025 12:38 AM IST

The Hindu Kush Himalayan cryosphere is warming at twice the global average rate, according to the International Cryosphere Initiative

New Delhi: The United Nations will observe 2025 as the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation, with March 21 marked annually as World Day for Glaciers from that year, experts from the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) and Unesco said on Thursday.

The melting Sermeq glacier, located around 80 km south of Nuuk, is photographed in this aerial over Greenland, on September 11, 2021. (REUTERS)
The melting Sermeq glacier, located around 80 km south of Nuuk, is photographed in this aerial over Greenland, on September 11, 2021. (REUTERS)

The Hindu Kush Himalayan cryosphere is warming at twice the global average rate, according to the International Cryosphere Initiative. There are more than 275,000 glaciers worldwide covering approximately 700,000 sq km, with ice sheets storing about 70% of global freshwater.

The World Glacier Monitoring Service tracks both glaciological and geodetic samples. About 210,000 glaciers are being monitored for elevation changes through geodetic samples. The data shows almost all glacier regions globally are receding. Mapping trends between 1976 and 2023 reveals a shift from no mass balance change to high negative mass balance or large-scale deglaciation in recent years.

Glacial melt in the Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region is critical as nearly 240 million people depend directly on it for their lives and livelihoods. “The HKH region has the largest reserves of ice outside the polar regions and is a source of 10 major Asian river systems. These areas have 330 important bird and biodiversity areas and four global biodiversity hotspots,” said Neera Pradhan, senior water and adaptation specialist at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development. The region is most vulnerable to glacial disasters like outburst floods.

Several significant glaciers will disappear by 2030, experts warned. “Many larger glaciers will fall apart into smaller ones. So it’s possible that we have a higher number of glaciers. There is also a list of dying glaciers which are documented. We are well aware of what is coming up,” said Isabelle Gärtner, scientist at the World Glacier Monitoring Service.

“The Peyto glacier in Western Canada is not expected to last through this decade. It’s one of the most observed glaciers under the World Monitoring Service network. This is a scientific, ecological and cultural loss,” said John Pomeroy from University of Saskatchewan.

In the Himalayas, the Yala glacier may disappear soon according to the Glacier Casualty List. Located in Nepal’s Langtang Valley, it has decreased considerably since monitoring began. Between 1974 and 2021, the glacier retreated by 680 metres. Its elevation, which ranged from 5,170 to 5,750 metres above sea level in 2011, has significantly diminished.

The UN General Assembly adopted the resolution on glaciers in December 2022. The International Year and World Day aim to raise global awareness about glaciers’ critical role in climate systems and hydrological cycles, and the impacts of changes in Earth’s cryosphere.

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