2025 is the Year of the Glacier

By the Climate Centre
UNESCO and the World Meteorological Organization this week launched the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation, proclaimed by the UN General Assembly, “marking a crucial milestone in global efforts to protect these essential water towers that provide freshwater to over 2 billion people worldwide.”
A high-level opening event jointly organized by the two UN agencies with the support of Tajikistan was held in Geneva Tuesday; UNESCO and the WMO are coordinating efforts to protect glaciers by over 75 international organizations and 35 countries.
Some 70 per cent of global freshwater is stored in glaciers and ice sheets that are “rapidly retreating due to climate disruption,” a press release said.
“Preserving these crucial resources is essential for environmental sustainability, economic stability and safeguarding cultures and livelihoods.”
‘Melting ice and glaciers threaten long-term water security for many millions of people’
As glaciers retreat the availability and quality of water downstream from them is altered, with implications for aquatic ecosystems, agriculture and hydropower, accompanied by a short-term increase in landslides, avalanches, floods and droughts, the press release explained.
The special year will focus on expanding glacier monitoring systems, including for glacier-related hazards, promoting the sustainable management of water resources in regions dependent on glaciers, and preserving associated cultural heritage.
WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo added that its “repeated red alerts about the state of our climate” included the retreat of glaciers. “In 2023, glaciers suffered the largest mass loss in the five decades of record-keeping. It was the second consecutive year in which all regions in the world with glaciers reported ice loss.
“Melting ice and glaciers threaten long-term water security for many millions of people. This international year must be a wake-up call to the world.”
Together with rising sea levels, disappearing glaciers are among the slow-onset climate impacts listed in the IFRC’s 2023 guide to climate-smart programming and humanitarian operations for National Societies.
A chunk of a glacier floats in Ice Bay, Alaska, where the retreat of glaciers is “clearly visible”, the WMO says. In the background is Mount Saint Elias – the second-highest in both the US and Canada. The photo won an mention in the organization’s 2024 calendar competition. (Photo: Marcel Haefliger)