New York: Europe and the Arabs
UN climate experts have warned that glaciers are facing an existential threat. If they continue to melt at their current rate, they will not be able to survive the 21st century, threatening the lives of hundreds of millions of people who depend on these rivers as their primary source of water.
This warning came on the occasion of World Glacier Day, celebrated for the first time this year. According to the UN daily news bulletin, a copy of which we received, "Along with the ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica, glaciers hold about 70 percent of the world's freshwater reserves. They are stark indicators of climate change because they typically maintain the same volume in a stable climate. But with rising temperatures and global warming caused by human-caused climate change, they are melting at an unprecedented rate, according to Ms. Sulajna Mishra, an official with the World Meteorological Organization.
Livelihoods of Millions at Risk
Last year, glaciers in Scandinavia, the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard, and northern Asia experienced the largest annual loss of total ice mass ever recorded. Glaciologists determine the health of a glacier by measuring the amount of snow that falls on it and the amount of melting that occurs annually.
Sulajna Mishra warned of the threat to the livelihoods of more than 120 million farmers due to the loss of glaciers in the 500-mile-long Hindu Kush mountain range. Located in the western Himalayas, it stretches from Afghanistan to Pakistan.
The Hindu Kush mountain range has been dubbed the "Third Pole" due to its vast water resources.
Raising Awareness of the Role of Glaciers
World Glacier Day, observed on March 21, aims to raise awareness of the vital role these massive frozen rivers of snow and ice play in the climate system. This day coincides with World Water Day, which the United Nations is marking this year under the theme "Preserving Glaciers."
To mark this occasion—a highlight of the 2025 International Year of Glacier Preservation—world leaders, policymakers, scientists, and civil society representatives gathered at UN Headquarters in New York to highlight the importance of glaciers and strengthen global monitoring of the freezing and melting processes that affect them.