Glaciers

Global warming is melting glacier ice much more quickly than expected. Over the last 60 years the average glacier has lost 20 meters in thickness. Hundreds of millions of people depend on glacier melt for water. Greenland's glacial ice sheet loses 54 cubic miles of ice each year. It may raise sea levels three feet by 2100. In 1900 there were 150 glaciers in Glacier National Park in Montana. Today there are only 27. Mt Everest Khumbu Glacier has receded three miles since it was first climbed in 1953. In the summer of 2009 Chacaltaya Glacier in Bolivia completely disappeared.

- UNEP, National Geographic, USGS, WWF, Bloomberg

WHAT YOU CAN DO

• Reduce global greenhouse-gas emissions by using less fossil fuel and choosing clean, renewable energy.

• Support glacier-monitoring programs that track ice loss and help protect freshwater supplies.

FOR MORE INFORMATION AND HOW TO HELP

Visit:

• World Glacier Monitoring Service (WGMS)

• National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC)

• NASA Earth Observatory – Glaciers & Ice Program