“These numbers are staggering. They serve as a reminder that things are changing fast in some regions,” said Prof Noel Gourmelen, co-lead author of the study and chair of Earth observation at the University of Edinburgh.
The research found a stark contrast in ice loss across decades, with 36% more ice melting between 2012 and 2023 compared to the previous decade. “This confirms the pace of glacier melting is accelerating,” said Prof Andrew Shepherd, head of geography and environmental science at Northumbria University. “Even small amounts of sea level rise matter because it leads to more frequent coastal flooding. Every centimetre of sea level rise exposes another 2 million people to annual flooding somewhere on our planet.”
The loss of glaciers also severely impacts regional freshwater supplies, particularly for communities already facing water scarcity. “Around 2 billion people depend on meltwater from glaciers, so their retreat is a big problem,” said Shepherd.
Glaciers play a crucial role in power generation as well. In Iceland, 70% of electricity comes from hydropower, which relies on glacier meltwater. “This is the same in the Andes and parts of Europe, like Switzerland,” said Gourmelen.
Published in Nature, this study is part of the Glacier Mass Balance Intercomparison Exercise (Glambie), which uses field measurements and satellite data to track glacier changes. Melting glaciers, after ocean warming, are the second-largest contributors to global sea level rise.
“This research is concerning because it predicts further glacier loss,” said Martin Siegert, professor of geosciences at the University of Exeter. “Two centimetres might seem small, but this is the contribution from small glaciers, not Greenland or Antarctica.”
Gourmelen emphasized that glaciers are a vital climate indicator. “They are a biometer for climate change, and this study measures the impact of climate change over the past 20 years. Tracking glacier activity will help measure how effective our climate actions are moving forward.”
