Glaciers Are Melting Fast – Here’s What the UN Is Doing About It
The United Nations has declared 2025 the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation (IYGP) to address the rapid melting of glaciers due to climate change. Starting in 2025, March 21 will also be observed as the World Day for Glaciers. These initiatives aim to raise awareness of glaciers’ critical role in the global climate system and hydrological cycle.
Why Glaciers Matter?
Glaciers regulate the global climate and provide freshwater for billions of people. Their rapid retreat impacts ecosystems, water resources, and global sea levels. According to the United Nations, preserving glaciers is an important climate act that helps in mitigating these consequences and ensuring sustainable water use.
In brief, glaciers have a significant influence the Earth’s climate, water systems, and sea levels. They regulate ocean currents by adding freshwater. They greatly contribute to rising sea levels through melting and thermal expansion.
Glaciers reflect sunlight, keeping temperatures cooler. However, their loss exposes darker surfaces that absorb heat. Melting glaciers impact ecosystems, weather patterns, and, thus, billions of people worldwide. These effects are some of the visible markers of climate change.
IYGP Objectives
The IYGP 2025 focuses on:
- Raising awareness about glaciers’ importance.
- Fostering collaboration among nations.
- Advocating for action to reduce glacier melting.
- Enhancing scientific understanding of glacier dynamics.
- Strengthening policy and financial support for preservation efforts.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and UNESCO are leading IYGP 2025 under UN General Assembly Resolution A/RES/77/158 with the efforts aimed to facilitate actionable strategies, policy changes, and data sharing in regards to the preservation of worldwide glaciers.
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Key activities include:
- Global Glacier Casualty List: A tribute to vanishing glaciers launched in 2024.
- A Special Annals of Glaciology Collection – Vanishing Glaciers: Focused on glacier loss, in 2025, the International Glaciological Society (IGS) will release a special issue of the Annals of Glaciology focused on the theme “Vanishing Glaciers,” with papers published online on an ongoing basis.
- Goodbye Glaciers: Updates on disappearing glaciers.
- Launch of the 1st World Day for Glaciers: On March 21, 2025, a high-level event at the UN Headquarters in New York will mark the first World Day for Glaciers and World Water Day under the theme “Glaciers’ Preservation.”
The Global Glacier Casualty List project, established in 2024, is a joint effort by Rice University, the University of Iceland, the Iceland Glaciological Society, the World Glacier Monitoring Service, and UNESCO. It supports the UN’s 2025 International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation.
“Glaciers are crucial for regulating the global climate and providing freshwater, essential for billions of people. However, due to climate change, driven mainly by human activities since the 1800s, these vital resources are rapidly melting.”
says UN.
For more details, visit the official website: UN-glaciers.org.
