There are around 200,000 glaciers in the world and virtually all of them are melting with the rate accelerating. More than half of the world’s population makes use of meltwater from glaciers and snow for drinking, agriculture, and energy. Nearly two billion depend on seasonal glacier melt that supplies rivers and aquifers. This is especially true in Asia and in the Andes.
Thus, as glaciers shift and recede, it alters the lives and livelihoods of the communities that rely on them.
The long-term availability of water is not the only challenge humanity faces as glaciers recede. Melting glaciers result in instabilities that can be disastrous. Recently, a huge glacial landslide destroyed 90% of the village of Blatten in Switzerland.
There are Glacial Lake Outburst Flood events that occur when large volumes of water are suddenly released from unstable glacial lakes whose ice or moraines come apart. In Nepal alone, there are at least 2,000 glacial lakes, many of which are potentially dangerous.
Last year (2025) was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation to highlight the seriousness of the situation and provide advice and support to those who rely on them. Researchers are studying glaciers in remote places such as high up on Mt. Everest trying to understand their behavior as the climate continues to change. They are finding that glacial ice can be much closer to the melting point than external temperatures would indicate.
How to minimize the impact of melting glaciers is a major challenge that affects a significant fraction of humanity.
