Glaciers melting faster than ever, Unesco warns

31-Mar-2025

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Glaciers worldwide are disappearing faster than ever, with the past three years witnessing the largest recorded loss of glacial mass, according to a UNESCO report.

Since 1975, glaciers have lost approximately 9,000 gigatons of ice—equivalent to an ice block the size of Germany with a thickness of 25 meters, said Michael Zemp, director of the Switzerland-based World Glacier Monitoring Service, during a press conference at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva.

The dramatic ice loss, spanning the Arctic, the Alps, South America, and the Tibetan Plateau, is expected to accelerate as climate change—driven by fossil fuel combustion—continues to raise global temperatures. 

This will likely intensify economic, environmental, and social challenges worldwide, as rising sea levels and dwindling water sources impact millions of people.