On World Water Day UN calls for action to preserve glaciers

By Lisa Zengarini

22 March marks World Water Day, an annual observance celebrated every year to raise awareness on the vital importance of freshwater for our planet and to advocate for the sustainable management of water resources.  

2.2 billion people lacking access to clean and safe drinking water

Established by the United Nations in 1992, during the world Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro,  this global event serves as a platform to highlight the severe water crisis affecting hundreds of millions worldwide. The celebration is closely linked to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6, which aims to ensure water and sanitation for all by 2030. Currently, around 2.2 billion people lack access to clean and safe drinking water.

Glaciers melting at an unprecedented pace

The theme chosen for this year’s World Water Day is “Glacier Preservation”, highlighting the vital need to protect glaciers, which along with ice sheets, store about 70 per cent of the world's freshwater, but are retreating at an unprecedented pace due to climate change, threatening water security, ecosystems and livelihoods across the world.

Since 1975, glaciers worldwide (excluding the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets) have lost over 9,000 billion tons of ice—an amount that would form a 25-meter-thick ice sheet over Germany.

According the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the World Glacier Monitoring Service (WGMS), five of the past six years have recorded the fastest glacier retreat on record.

The period from 2022 to 2024 saw the largest three-year loss of glacier mass ever documented. The year 2024 marked the third consecutive year of net glacier mass loss in all 19 monitored regions. Some areas, like the Canadian Arctic, experienced moderate reductions, but others, such as Scandinavia and North Asia, suffered record-breaking depletion. Some regions, such as Central Europe, have lost nearly 40 per cent  of their glacial ice, showing how unevenly the effects of climate change are distributed.

In many regions, glaciers once considered to have "eternal ice" are now expected to vanish before the end of the 21st century.

The environmental, economic, social, and geopolitical consequences of glaciers melting

As highlighted by the UN Secretary-General António Guterres in his message for this year’s World Water Day, the loss of glaciers is not merely an environmental concern —it has it has far-reaching, economic, social, and geopolitical consequences. The depletion of these ice masses threatens water supplies for millions of people who rely on glacial meltwater, particularly during the hottest and driest seasons. In the short term, increased glacier melt intensifies the risk of deadly natural disasters such droughts and landslides impacting agriculture and economies.

Rising sea levels

One of the most alarming consequences of glacier loss is its contribution to rising sea levels which will in turn increase climate migration. Glacier melt is now the second-largest contributor to rising sea levels, following ocean warming. Studies estimate  that between 2000 and 2023, glaciers lost 6,542 billion tons of ice—causing an 18 mm rise in sea level. While this figure may appear insignificant, each additional millimetre exposes hundreds of thousands of people both in cities and rural areas to the risk of flooding and to saltwater intrusion affecting drinking water and agriculture.

Low-lying communities and entire countries are facing existential threats, while competition for water and land is aggravating tensions. 

Call for action

This makes climate action all the more urgent, Guterres said,  urging all states to deliver strong national climate action plans and to increase funding for climate adaptation and resilience. “Glaciers may be shrinking, but we cannot shrink from our responsibilities,” he said.