According to the Amerindia legend, the highest peaks of the Mérida Cordillera (Venezuela) owe their snowy summits to the flutter of five White Eagles. However, in recent decades, birds seem to have abandoned the mountain range, now covered with stony soil. In 2023, the country lost its last glacier, the crown ». With this text that touches the poetic, UNESCO tries to explain that glaciers are the best shots of global warming and that are in setback throughout the planet, from the Andes to Mount Everest. “In recent years they are reducing at an unprecedented rate,” says the entity. A study published a couple of weeks ago in the journal Nature quantifies this statement: «Glaciers have lost 5 % of their volume in 20 years and in the last decade, The thaw speed has increased by 36 %. More than 6,500 million tons of ice have reduced fresh water resources and contributed to the increase in sea level ».
But why should we worry about what happens in the high mountain, in remote areas and difficult to access? Because the changes that are giving there influence, among other things, the availability of water resources. “Together with the ice mantles, glaciers store about 70 % of global fresh water resources.” Yesterday, the World Meteorological Organization warned in a statement that the loss of ice of the glaciers will cause an avalanche of chain effects. “Between 2022 and 2024 there was the greatest triennial loss of glacier mass that is recorded. In numerous regions, which were previously called the” perpetual ice “of the glaciers will disappear before the end of the 21st century,” says the entity in said statement.
In communities of the Andes or the Himalayas, where it is estimated that up to 2,000 people drink and cultivate directly from the water of the thaw. «In these places practically 90% of the available water during the driest months comes from glaciers, but the recoil of the icy masses is occurring throughout the world. The global glacier monitoring service takes an evaluation report every year. He has done so for 75 years and only in five of them, the ice masses have increased very slightly. The other 70s have retreated. In addition, since the 90s, no increase has occurred but, vice versa, there has been a very marked acceleration of thaw. The last years with record losses. «By the end of this century it is expected to disappear around 35% of the planet’s ice and mountains such as Alps could lose up to 75% of current ice », Details Juan Ignacio Pérez Moreno, researcher at the Pyrenean Institute of Ecology.
The communities closest to the great glaciers of the world also face floods, as happened in Nepal in 2021, while downstream «can experience scarcity of seasonal water that affects agriculture, the supply of drinking water and the generation of energy. Coastal communities are also severely affected by the increase in sea level as a result of the melting of ice layers, ”says the UN. For all these reasons, the agency has decided to dedicate This year the World Water Day and designate 2025 as an international year for the preservation of glaciers. The objective: to raise awareness about the consequences of climate change and insist again on the need to reduce emissions.
Sea level increase
Today it is considered that the melting of glaciers is the main cause of the sea level being increasing. It is estimated that, Between 2000 and 2023, approximately 273,000 million tons of ice a year were lost, while the sea increased 0.75 mm per year. «There are three great ice masses in the world. Greenland represents 11%, Antarctica more than 80% and then there are small glaciers. Until now, the sea level rise has been due, above all, to the thaw of glaciers, but it is estimated that by 2100 it will be Greenland that constantly contributes to this phenomenon. The loss of ice, especially superficial, will be sustained. It already has between 25 and 30% of its discovered territory, ”says Francisco Navarro, of the Department of Mathematics applied to the Telecommunication ETSI of the Polytechnic University of Madrid. This thaw, such as the Arctic, triggers geopolitical interests in a career to control new mining resources (it is seen in Trump’s constant statements about Greenland) and new maritime routes (Russia has signed for years population near the Arctic Circle and is developing military bases and ports to assume a new step for merchandise ships and the exploitation of fossil fuels).
Fresh water availability
It is calculated that There are 3.6 billion people who currently face water shortage and it is projected that they will exceed 5,000 million by 2050. Meanwhile, the availability for consumption decreases. Between 2015 and 2023 the average amount of fresh water stored on Earth (which includes surface liquid water such as lakes and rivers, in addition to water in underground aquifers) was 1,200 cubic kilometers lower than the average levels between 2002 and 2014.
Among the reasons for lower water availability are several factors that have nothing to do with thaw. In fact, organizations such as the World Meteorological Organization indicate a Greater demand driven by agriculture, which already represents 70% of the global consumption of fresh water.
Water is also used for energy purposes and is used for cooling plants, a demand that will increase, according to this body, up to 20%. The world’s fresh water sources are being drained faster than they are recovering. Together with the expansion of irrigated agriculture, farms and cities depend more and more on groundwater. The water table also decreases and, in many cases, is contaminated. To all this is added the loss of precipitation in the form of snow and the thaw of high mountain galca. “It is not good news as they suppose a contribution to the rivers,” says Jorge Occina, a professor of regional geography at the University of Alicante.
The researcher points out other consequences that all these leave Changes that are occurring in the cryiosfera (frozen masses and frozen surfaces such as permafrost, to which the glaciers belong). «The main problem is that We are breaking the ecological balance of these mountain landscapes (which can lead to more floods and avalanches for communities especially in Asia), but also of the Arctic ice masses. This also It is a continuous flow of fresh water in the North Atlantic That alters the temperature conditions of the ocean and the current, now warm. If the feed flow with cold waters follows there are theories that say that a collapse of circulation can occur, causing the climate change process, paradoxically, to have a cold initial phase ». The researcher also alerts the worrying thaw of the Arctic region: «Tundra is also being lost by quick steps. That ice cream that is in the vicinity of the polar circle, stores a greenhouse gas IMPORTANTE: Methane. Which means a liberation to the atmosphere that increases the heating process. That is, the thaw aggravates the condition of climate change on Earth. The loss of ice and bright surface that reflects sunlight also increases the heat absorption capacity of the earth, increasing the temperature.
Spain runs out of glaciers
The situation of ice and snow masses in Spain follows the world trend: they are getting minor. In spite of the last snowfall, a few days ago the Clivar-Spanish Committee published a report in which the rapid recoil of the crosphere in the Iberian Peninsula, the accelerated warming of the oceanic waters and the effects of climate change in the geography and climate of the country stands out. «There are 14 very small glaciers. In the Pyrenees in 2011 there were 26. Almost 70% of the surface covered by ice has been lost. The disappearance of glaciers in Spain is an imminent issue that will happen, if not in this next decade, a little later. The snow mantle also disappears and, with it, a reservoir regulation system. If we depended only on the rain the peak of flows would happen in winter and there would be a lot of time between this peak and summer, when there is more demand. In addition, of course, the ski industry is affected. Many ski stations are becoming mountain stations, ”says the IPE researcher