by Daniel Brouse
March 21, 2025
Glaciers Melting 36% Faster Than 20 Years Ago
The United Nations has designated 2025 as the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation to raise global awareness about the critical role glaciers play in our planet’s climate system and water resources. This initiative aims to mobilize governments, scientific institutions, the private sector, and civil society to urgently reduce greenhouse gas emissions and implement effective adaptation strategies. Additionally, starting in 2025, March 21 will be observed annually as the World Day for Glaciers, emphasizing the need for concerted efforts to protect these vital natural resources.
Recent reports highlight the alarming acceleration of glacier melt worldwide. A UNESCO report reveals that glaciers have been melting 36% faster than they did 20 years ago, losing approximately 273 billion tons of ice per year between 2000 and 2023. This amounts to a total loss of 6,542 billion tons of ice during that period, significantly impacting regions from the Arctic to the Alps, South America, and the Tibetan Plateau. The accelerated melting contributes to rising sea levels, threatening millions with floods and disrupting essential water sources for energy and agriculture.
The rapid retreat of glaciers poses a severe risk to the food and water supply of up to 2 billion people globally. The climate crisis is causing unprecedented glacier melting and reduced snowfall, which in turn impacts irrigated agriculture and water supplies in mountainous regions. More than 1 billion people in these areas, particularly in developing countries, already face food insecurity, a situation predicted to worsen as glaciers continue to shrink.
In Antarctica, scientists are increasingly alarmed as evidence shows that sea ice has reached record lows for the fourth consecutive year. Notably, the Thwaites Glacier, often referred to as the “Doomsday Glacier,” remains particularly vulnerable, with significant implications for global sea levels. Recent Antarctic sea ice extents have fallen below 2 million square kilometers, with 2022 and 2025 both recording only 1.98 million square kilometers. This decline in sea ice has potential global repercussions, as it may amplify rising sea levels and influence global temperatures.
These developments underscore the urgency of the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation in 2025, aiming to foster global action to mitigate the impacts of climate change on glaciers and the communities that depend on them.
The Past, Present, and Future of Climate Change
In the 1990s, we first hypothesized the non-linear acceleration of climate change. By the early 2000s, this hypothesis had evolved into established climate theory, now widely recognized as scientific fact. My lab partner, a Doctor of Physics from Ohio State, and I collaborated to provide key evidence supporting this theory. Over the years, we have observed a dramatic reduction in the doubling time of climate change impacts — the rate at which these effects intensify. Initially, the doubling time was approximately 100 years, but it has since decreased to 10 years and, more recently, to just 2 years. This trend implies that the damage caused by climate change today is double what it was two years ago. In two years, it could be four times worse; in four years, eight times worse; and within a decade, potentially 64 times worse. These projections are conservative, assuming the doubling period does not continue to shrink further. Alarmingly, this rapid acceleration does not appear to be an anomaly. If this trajectory persists, the consequences will likely be far more catastrophic than previously anticipated.