Thousands of glaciers to melt each year by midcentury, study finds

Scientists accidental up to 4,000 glaciers could melt annually if planetary warming is not curbed.

The satellite could suffer thousands of glaciers each twelvemonth implicit the coming decades unless global warming is curbed, leaving lone a fraction remaining by the extremity of the century, scientists warn.

A technological survey published connected Monday successful Nature Climate Change warned that unless governments instrumentality enactment now, the satellite could scope a signifier of “peak glacier extinction” by midcentury with up to 4,000 melting each year.

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About 200,000 glaciers stay successful the world, and astir 750 vanish each year. That complaint could emergence much than fivefold if planetary temperatures soar by 4 degrees Celsius (7.2 degrees Fahrenheit) from pre-industrial levels and accelerate planetary warming, according to the report, which predicted lone 18,288 glaciers would stay by the extremity of the century.

Even if governments conscionable their pledges to bounds warming to 1.5C (2.7F) nether the Paris Agreement, the satellite could inactive extremity up losing 2,000 glaciers a twelvemonth by 2041. At that pace, a small much than fractional of the planet’s glaciers would beryllium gone by 2100.

That champion lawsuit script appears unlikely. The United Nations Environment Programme already warned past period that warming is connected way to transcend 1.5C successful the adjacent fewer years. It predicted that adjacent if countries conscionable promises they person made successful their clime enactment plans, the satellite volition lukewarm 2.3C to 2.5C (4.1F to 4.5F) by the extremity of the century.

Monday’s survey was published astatine the adjacent of the UN’s International Year of Glacier Preservation with the findings intended to “underscore the urgency of ambitious clime policy”.

“The quality betwixt losing 2,000 and 4,000 glaciers per twelvemonth by the mediate of the period is determined by near-term policies and societal decisions taken today,” the survey said.

Coauthor Matthias Huss, a glacier adept astatine ETH Zurich university, took portion successful 2019 successful a symbolic ceremonial for the Pizol glacier successful the Swiss Alps.

“The nonaccomplishment of glaciers that we are speaking astir present is much than conscionable a technological concern. It truly touches our hearts,” helium said.