A significant new study reveals that climate change is leading to an accelerated melt of the world’s mountain glaciers, with current rates of ice loss more than double those observed in the early 2000s.
Between 2000 and 2011, glaciers were losing approximately 255 billion tons (or 231 billion metric tons) of ice each year. This figure rose to about 346 billion tons (approximately 314 billion metric tons) per year over the following decade. Remarkably, in 2023, the glacial ice loss reached an unprecedented 604 billion tons (548 billion metric tons), marking the highest annual loss recorded during the study period, as noted in the latest edition of the journal Nature.
The research encompassed extensive collaboration, employing 233 measurements of glacier weight changes, ultimately revealing that glaciers worldwide have lost over 7 trillion tons (or 6.5 trillion metric tons) of ice since 2000. William Colgan, a glaciologist with the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland and a co-author of the study, emphasized the urgency of the situation, stating, “The glaciers are indeed retreating and disappearing as we said they would. The rate of that loss seems to be accelerating.”
Among the regions analyzed, Alaska is experiencing the fastest rate of glacier melt, shedding approximately 67 billion tons (61 billion metric tons) of ice annually, which represents the most significant net ice loss. The report also indicates that glaciers in Central Europe have faced the steepest declines in volume, shrinking by 39% since 2000. Colgan expressed particular concern for the Alps, where rising summer temperatures are causing considerable damage.
Fifteen years prior, the Andes and Patagonia glaciers were the primary focus of scientists’ concerns; however, the rapid reduction of Alpine glaciers now raises fears they may vanish altogether, according to Colgan.
Gwenn Flowers, a professor of Earth Sciences at Simon Fraser University in Canada and a separate observer, asserted, “Glaciers are apolitical and unbiased sentinels of climate change, and their decline paints a clear picture of accelerated warming.” Another climate scientist, Ted Scambos from the University of Colorado, emphasized that the current situation is distinctly influenced by the increase in greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the burning of fossil fuels. He remarked that “no amount of rhetoric, tweeting, or proclamation will change that.”
Experts, including Scambos and Flowers, described the findings as accurate and introspective, though not unforeseen. Colgan pointed out that areas reliant on fast-melting glaciers currently benefit from the additional water supply. However, he cautioned this will not last as glaciers continue to dwindle past irreversible limits.
Melting glaciers are a primary contributor to rising sea levels, surpassing the impact of ice lost from Greenland and Antarctica. The report stated that the only factor contributing more to sea level rise is the thermal expansion of warming water.
While the overall glacier loss appears comparable to earlier, less thorough studies, this study is anticipated to provide a foundation for future predictions that may be increasingly pessimistic due to improved data and worsening climate conditions, according to Colgan. He stated, “If you’re losing 5.5% of the global ice volume in just over 20 years, clearly that’s not sustainable. That’s going to catch up with you.”
The staggering figure of more than 600 billion tons of glacier loss in 2023 “sounds incredible now, but it might sound pretty normal in 10 years from now,” Colgan remarked. “Mountain glaciers can flip into collective ice loss pretty darn quick.”
Glaciers are retreating more rapidly than ever due to climate change, losing 7 trillion tons since 2000.
