Introduction

The United Nations has designated 2025 as the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation, with 21st March earmarked annually as World Day for Glaciers from 2025.

Glaciers - An Overview

  • Glaciers are large, slow-moving masses of ice formed from compacted snow over centuries.
  • Most of today's glaciers are remnants of the ice sheets from the Ice Age, roughly 10,000 years ago.
  • Approximately 3% of the Earth's water is stored in glaciers, most located in polar regions due to low solar insolation.
  • An exception being certain mountain ranges near the Equator, like the Andes, which have tropical glaciers due to their high altitudes.
  • Greenhouse gas emissions have led to rising temperatures, thus causing glaciers to melt at an increasing rate.

Importance of Glaciers

  • Glaciers serve several key functions including providing a water supply, contributing to nutrient cycling, and acting as climate regulators.
  • Furthermore, glacial meltwater is used for hydroelectric power in countries such as Norway, Canada, and New Zealand.
  • With increasing threats to the ecosystems, notable glacier-related tourism are growing in mountainous regions.

Current Status of Glaciers

  • The World Glacier Monitoring Service (WGMS) has observed a large-scale deglaciation in recent years.
  • Particularly vulnerable to glacial disasters is the Hindu Kush Himalayan cryosphere, which is warming at twice the global average.
  • Experts predict the disappearance of several significant glaciers by the year 2030, leading to them splitting into smaller ones.
  • In response to these alarming developments, the UN adopted a resolution in December 2022 promoting global awareness of glacier loss.

Hindu Kush Himalayas

  • Stretched over 3500 kilometres and across eight countries, Hindu Kush Himalayas is one of the largest volumes of ice and snow outside of the Arctic and Antarctica.
  • The region is often called 'Water Tower of Asia' as it is a significant water source for 12 river basins, including 10 major transboundary rivers.
  • It is home to 330 bird and biodiversity areas, including four global biodiversity hotspots.

Impacts of Melting Glaciers

  • The melting of glaciers contributes significantly to the rise in sea level, disrupting weather patterns and affecting industries that depend on fisheries.
  • At the same time, some benefits can be observed in the short term, such as revealing geothermal energy sources and opening up passages like the Northern Sea Route.

Proposed Activities for Glaciers' Preservation

  • A global outreach initiative aims to educate the public and stakeholders about the importance of glaciers and their potential loss.
  • An international conference scheduled for 2025 plans to focus on innovative approaches for preserving glaciers.
  • Additional strategies involve providing targeted capacity-building programs and securing funding from various sources to support glacier monitoring, research, and preservation.

Related Glacier Terminologies

  • Ice Sheet: A land-based mass of glacial ice covering more than 50,000 square kilometres.
  • Ice Caps: A dome-shaped glacier with an area less than 50,000 square kilometres.
  • Icefield: A glacier ice mass, similar to an ice cap but smaller and without a dome-like shape.
  • Icebergs: Floating chunks of ice detached from a glacier and carried to a lake or the ocean. Smaller icebergs are known as bergy, bits, and growlers.