Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Israeli occupation forces bombing the Gaza Strip
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Ceasefire in Gaza takes effect
The Kremlin: Negotiations toward a settlement in Ukraine are currently at a complete standstill
Abu Mujahid: The steadfastness of the Palestinian people and the Resistance thwarted the displacement plan and allowed us to secure the best possible terms in an agreement to halt the genocidal war
Abu Mujahid: We salute whosoever made sacrifices in support of the Palestinian people, foremost among them the martyred Sayyed Nasrallah and Sayyed Safieddine, as well as the people of Yemen and Iran
Abu Mujahid, head of the media office of the Popular Resistance Committees, to Al Mayadeen: The people of Gaza have sacrificed and given their most precious offerings for the Al-Aqsa Flood
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Gaza: Israeli artillery shelling targeted Khan Younis and the al-Bureij and al-Maghazi refugee camps
Captives may be released as early as Saturday and by Monday at the latest: Source briefed on the details of the agreement.
Netanyahu set to convene security cabinet at 1500 (1200GMT) and government at 1600 (1300GMT) to approve the deal: Source briefed on the details of the agreement
Within the first 24 hours, the Israeli military will complete the first phase of partial withdrawal: Source briefed on the details of the agreement

Half of Earth’s glaciers could still melt even if 1.5°C goal is met

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 6 Jan 2023 21:59
4 Min Read

Even at 1.5 degrees Celsius over preindustrial levels of warming, the Earth will lose nearly half of its glaciers, a new study suggests.

  • x
  • The Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica is seen in this undated NASA image. (REUTERS/NASA)
    The Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica is seen in this undated NASA image. (Reuters)

A comprehensive study of all the world's glaciers other than the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets shows that over half of them will melt by the end of the century, even if the world fulfills its most aggressive global warming target.

The study, published Thursday in the journal Science, discovered that even with only 1.5 °C (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) of warming above preindustrial levels, 104,000 of the world's more than 215,000 mountain glaciers and ice caps will melt, raising global sea levels by just under 4 inches.

A 1.5°C increase above preindustrial temperatures is currently extremely difficult to avert, implying that such a development may be nearly unstoppable. The outlook worsens with each extra degree of temperature rise.

According to the study, 3°C (5.4 degrees Fahrenheit) of warming would result in the disappearance of more than 70% of the world's glaciers and a 5-inch rise in global sea level. Even though many losses are already baked in, the authors argue that it is still worthwhile to attempt to avert as much warming as possible.

David Rounce, the study’s lead author and a researcher at Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Alaska at Fairbanks, said, “Any reduction in the temperature increase will have a substantial impact on sea-level rise and the loss of glaciers globally.”

Rounce collaborated with an international team of glaciologists from Austria, Canada, France, Norway, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States on the study.

Since the end of the last major ice age 20,000 years ago, the earth has been progressively losing glacial ice. However, there is still much to contribute. The majority of remaining ice is concentrated in Greenland and Antarctica's ice sheets, which offer the greatest threat of major sea-level rise.

However, many high mountain locations in the Arctic and Antarctic, as well as in the planet's more temperate latitudes, have numerous glaciers, where thick ice has accumulated due to centuries or even millennia of snowfall.

Related News

New Zealand’s oceans warming 34% faster than global average: Report

Europe losing green land at alarming rate, investigation reveals

These glaciers then gather more ice during the winter and frequently lose some of it during the spring and summer, supplying rivers downstream.

Human communities rely largely on these ice masses for water supplies, like in the case of the vast glaciers of the Hindu Kush-Himalayan region, sometimes referred to as the planet's "third pole". This region's glaciers feed water into enormous river systems such as the Indus and Ganges. According to the study, glaciers provide water to an estimated 1.9 billion people globally.

According to the study, this process of shrinkage, up to and including total loss, will disproportionately affect many of the world's smaller glaciers, those less than 1 square kilometer (0.39 square miles) in area.

The current study goes beyond previous studies by attempting to forecast the individual fates of all 215,000 or more of the world's recorded glaciers, as well as adding methodologies to account for some of their unique characteristics. 

Many glaciers, for example, flow far forth into the sea and even partially float on the surface, particularly near the poles. This means that they can be melted by both warm air and warm ocean water.

The study implies that glaciers are more vulnerable than previously thought, particularly at lower emissions scenarios fit with a 1.5 to 2°C warming goal (2.7 to 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit). The research implies that at these temperatures, glaciers could contribute 14 to 23% more to sea level rise than previous studies revealed.

It's part of a trend in which newer research finds increasingly more dramatic effects at ever-lower levels of warming - levels very near to where we are now.

Despite the grim news concerning the world's glaciers, some researchers see the reason for optimism.

Read more: Global heating is turning white Alps green, study finds

  • Earth’s glaciers
  • NASA
  • Climate change
  • glaciers

Most Read

Tucker Carlson speaks at a memorial for Charlie Kirk, Sunday, September 21, 2025, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona (AP)

Tucker Carlson: Israeli officers gave orders on Iran inside Pentagon

  • Politics
  • 2 Oct 2025
A Hamas fighter in combat fatigues stands before the ceremony for the handover of Israeli captives to the Red Cross in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, Saturday, February 22, 2025 (AP)

Hamas responds to Trump plan, backs Gaza withdrawal, exchange

  • Politics
  • 3 Oct 2025
Mossad’s secret role in Aldo Moro’s 1978 murder revealed

Mossad’s secret role in Aldo Moro’s 1978 murder exposed

  • Politics
  • 5 Oct 2025
The Palestinian resistance and the people of Gaza showed that after combating Israeli aggression for two years, they remain victorious in the face of oppression (Mahdi Rteil/Al Mayadeen English)

Al-Aqsa Flood two years on, a tale of victory

  • Politics
  • 6 Oct 2025

Coverage

All
In Five

Read Next

All
ap
Politics

Mistrust paralyzes Washington as shutdown drags on for 9th day

Senate rejects bid to curb Trump’s military power in Caribbean
Politics

Senate rejects bid to curb Trump’s military power in Caribbean

ap
Politics

UN to slash peacekeeping operations as US funding cuts take effect

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, right, applauds after delivering a speech at the Spanish parliament in Madrid, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
Politics

Spain passes decree formalizing full arms embargo on 'Israel'

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS