March 21, 2025

expert reaction to WMO’s World Day for Glaciers announcement

Scientists comment on the WMO’s (World Meterological Organisation) announcement on World Day for Glaciers. 

Dr Bethan Davies, Chair in Glaciology, Newcastle University, said:

“Worldwide, glaciers are shrinking. Everywhere we look, glaciers are getting smaller each year; they are melting and losing more ice than they are gaining from snowfall or other solid precipitation.

“The loss of glaciers is a loss for society. Glaciers are beautiful in their own right, forming some of our world’s most inspiring landscapes. They have a cultural importance, being revered by mountain and polar communities in different regions across the world. They have an economic importance and value; glaciers bring in funds through tourism and adventure travel. But most importantly, glaciers provide ecosystem services. As they melt, they maintain the river flow down-valley, especially in dry seasons and even more importantly in drought years. This melt eventually makes its way to the sea, where it contributes to global sea level rise.

“On World Day of the Glacier in the International Year of Glacier Preservation we may ask, what does it mean to ‘preserve’ glaciers?

“The most effective way to preserve glaciers is by reducing carbon dioxide emissions and curbing the rise in global heating. While we can hypothesise about potential glacier-geoengineering solutions, none of these are tested and may cause more harm than good. All would require substantial investment in inhospitable and often politically contested parts of the world; funds that would be better invested in clean energy and transport.

“I am pleased that the UN and WMO have brought glaciers to the forefront and highlighted their significance and importance to society. While they are an iconic image of climate change, they are so much more, providing water and ecosystem services, contributions to GDP through tourism, being an important cultural part of our landscape, and driving rising sea levels and increasing mountain hazards as they shrink. We must do more to ‘preserve’ them by immediately curbing carbon emissions and meeting the Paris agreement of 1.5 C of warming.”

Declared interests

Bethan Davies: none to declare