On Thin, Melting Ice

A monument to climate change

Glaciologists expect glaciers around the world to continue to retreat, as the climate keeps warming. According to Climate Central, data pulled from NASA and the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) show that ten of the hottest years on record occurred in the past 20 years, and half of those where recorded in the 2010s. 2015, 2016 and 2017 were significantly warmer than 2014, the next warmest year.

As a result, glaciers are melting faster than they replenish. In the United States, the famous Glacier National Park, once home to 150 glaciers, will soon be glacier-free. The remaining 25 glaciers are projected to have melted by 2030.

South American glaciers are threatened by a similar fate, and a study published in Naturein 2017 warns that one-third of the ice contained within Asia’s glaciers will be lost by 2100 even if we limit global temperature rise by 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

Since we’ve already reached a warming of an average of 1.12°C — and the latest projections point to an increase of 3.2°C by the end of the century, if no action is taken — there seems to be a very slim chance of avoiding the worse. Even the 2015 Paris Agreement, which limits warming to 2°C, would be largely insufficient.

Glaciers act as crucial reservoirs of freshwater for downstream communities, irrigating fields and replenishing natural sources during the spring and summer. Their disappearance threatens the livelihoods of millions of people, as it affects drinking water supplies and food production, and is expected to further disrupt the planet’s delicate climate system.

Adding more water to the oceans

Once melted, the water from glaciers and giant ice sheets ends up in the oceans, contributing to sea level rise. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, about 15 to 35 per cent of the total projected global sea level rise is expected to come from melting glaciers.

Even a small increase in sea levels has devastating effects on coastal habitats.As seawater reaches further inland, it causes destructive erosion, wetland flooding, aquifer and agricultural soil contamination, and habitat loss.Sea level rise threatens thousands of coastal cities worldwide, as well as entire countries.

Yet, according to UN Environment’s Emissions Gap Report2017, even if countries fulfil their pledges to limit global warming to under 2°C, their actions would only represent a third of what is needed to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.

As world leaders, businesses and citizens gear up for the upcoming Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco, California on 12-14 September 2018, the silent demise of Mer de Glace serves as a reminder of how quickly climate change is affecting our planet and how urgent it is for us to act.

An early 20th century postcard of the Montenvers railway station directly overlooking the Mer de Glace | Photo from UN Environment.
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*SOURCE: UN Environment. Go to ORIGINAL.

2018 Human Wrongs Watch