The glaciers of the world melt at an alarming speed. Since the year 2000, they have lost 5 % of their initial volume, or 273 billion tonnes of ice each year – the equivalent of three Olympic swimming pools per second. This dramatic trend is confirmed by a study of the Glambie International Consortium, which brings together 35 research teams, including scientists from CNRS, CNES, INRAE and IRD.
The results, published on February 19 in the journal Naturedraw up an overwhelming observation: loss of ice cream mass reached a record in 2022 and 2023. As the website points out Reporterre“In France, the Alps and the Pyrenees rise to the head of a fatal podium: that of the regions of the world where the relative loss of ice is the most important”. In just 25 years, these massifs have lost around 40 % of their volume.
The urgency to protect glaciers
The study is based on an unprecedented methodology combining field measures and satellite observations, guaranteeing data of exceptional reliability. Thanks to this approach, researchers are now planning more regular surveillance, with data update every two years. These works will serve as a basis for the next IPCC report, expected in 2029.
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This report comes in a context where the protection of glaciers becomes a global priority. At the beginning of 2025, the UN decreed the year of the international protection of glaciers, stressing the urgency of acting in the face of a crisis that continues to accelerate.
(tagstotranslate) Climate warming