Profile
Settings
Refer your friends
Sign out
Why in the News?
Recently a study conducted by the UN body has found that one-third of the glaciers on the UNESCO World Heritage list is under threat, regardless of efforts to limit temperature increases.
Key Points:
Key Findings:
Threat to Glaciers:
- Fifty UNESCO World Heritage sites are home to glaciers, representing almost 10% of the Earth’s total glacierised area.
- They include the highest (next to Mt Everest), the longest (in Alaska), and the last remaining glaciers in Africa.
- The UNESCO study, in partnership with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), showed that these glaciers have been retreating at an accelerated rate since 2000 due to CO2 emissions, which are warming temperatures.
- They are currently losing 58 billion tons of ice every year and are responsible for nearly 5% of the observed global sea-level rise.
- The glaciers under threat are in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, North America, and Oceania.
- Effects of melting Ice Glacier:
- When glaciers melt rapidly, millions of people face water scarcity.
- The increased risk of natural disasters such as flooding.
- Millions more may be displaced by the resulting rise in sea levels.
Significance of glaciers:
- Half of humanity depends directly or indirectly on glaciers as their water source for domestic use, agriculture, and power.
- Glaciers are also pillars of biodiversity, feeding many ecosystems,
Recommendation:
- Rapid reduction in CO2 emission levels can save glaciers and the exceptional biodiversity that depends on them.
- It was still possible to save the other two-thirds if the rise in global temperatures did not exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to the pre-industrial era.
- The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is advocating for the creation of a new international fund for glacier monitoring and preservation.
- Fund would support comprehensive research, and promote exchange networks between all stakeholders.
