Climate Change Threatens Half of World's Glaciers by 2100

(MENAFN) At least fifty percent of the planet's glaciers are projected to vanish by the century's end as a result of climate change, according to a recent investigation conducted by Swiss scientists and published Monday in the journal Nature Climate Change.

The research cautions that between 2,000 and 4,000 glaciers might disappear each year by the middle of the century if global temperatures continue to climb, reported a media outlet. Currently, roughly 750 to 800 glaciers are melting away annually across the globe.

Scientists from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich) predict that if worldwide temperatures increase by 2.7°C (36.86°F)—the current trajectory—then four out of five of the more than 200,000 glaciers on Earth will be lost by 2100.

However, if warming is restricted to 1.5°C (34.7°F), consistent with the Paris Climate Agreement, about half of the present glaciers could be safeguarded. In a severe scenario with 4°C (39.2°F) of warming, only one in ten glaciers would survive.

"These contrasts illustrate how an ambitious climate policy can make an essential contribution to preserving glaciers," the researchers noted.

Unlike earlier studies, this investigation did not just examine glacier volume and surface area, but also considered the total number of glaciers. This approach emphasizes that even the loss of smaller glaciers can produce notable local effects.

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