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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/may/29/almost-40-of-worlds-glaciers-already-doomed-due-to-climate-crisis-study>
"Almost 40% of glaciers in existence today are already doomed to melt due to
climate-heating emissions from fossil fuels, a study has found.
The loss will soar to 75% if global heating reaches the 2.7C rise for which the
world is currently on track.
The massive loss of glaciers would push up sea levels, endangering millions of
people and driving mass migration, profoundly affecting the billions reliant on
glaciers to regulate the water used to grow food, the researchers said.
However, slashing carbon emissions and limiting heating to the internationally
agreed 1.5C target would save half of glacier ice. That goal is looking
increasingly out of reach as emissions continue to rise, but the scientists
said that every tenth-of-a-degree rise that was avoided would save 2.7tn tonnes
of ice.
Glaciers in the western US and Canada were severely affected, the study found,
with 75% already doomed to melt. Those in the high, cold mountains of the Hindu
Kush and Karakoram ranges are more resilient but will still shrink
significantly as global temperatures rise.
Unlike previous studies, the research uses multiple models of glaciers to
examine their fate well beyond the end of the century. About 20% of glaciers
were already known to be doomed to melt by 2100, but the longer term view
revealed that the total glacier loss that is already inevitable is 39%.
As well as sea level rise, glacier loss will increase ice lake collapses that
devastate downstream communities and the loss of wild ecosystems, while regions
dependent on glacier tourism will also suffer.
“Our study makes it painfully clear that every fraction of a degree matters,”
said Dr Harry Zekollari at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel in Belgium, who
co-led the research. “The choices we make today will resonate for centuries,
determining how much of our glaciers can be preserved.”"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics