Glaciers Losing Half a Metre to One Metre of its Ice Thickness Every Year

A recent study of the Glacier Monitoring Service states that the extreme ice loss of the past several years has resulted in the imbalance of glaciers in different regions of the world. According to the study, the glaciers will suffer more ice loss even if the weather remains stable.


“The observed glaciers currently lose between half a metre and one metre of its ice thickness every year. This is two to three times more than the corresponding average of the 20th century,” explained Michael Zemp, director of the World Glacier Monitoring Service at University of Zurich, Switzerland, and lead author of the study.

He further added, “However, these results are qualitatively confirmed from the field and satellite-based observations for tens of thousands of glaciers around the world.”