Skip to main content
Work with the NEU
World's glaciers disappearing faster than thought
This combination of September 14, 1986 (left), and August 1, 2019 shows the shrinking of the Okjokull glacier on the Ok volcano in west-central Iceland

THE world’s glaciers are disappearing faster than scientists thought, with two-thirds of them projected to melt out of existence by the end of the century at current climate change trends, according to a new study.

The study in Thursday’s journal Science examined all of the globe’s 215,000 land-based glaciers — not counting those on ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica — in a more comprehensive way than past studies.  

Projected ice loss by 2100 ranges from 38.7 trillion metric tons to 64.4 trillion tons, depending on how much the globe warms and how much coal, oil and gas is burned, the study said.

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
Similar stories
UNITED VOICE REQUIRED: Workers stand up, yesterday, to the management of Volkswagen plant in Zwickau, Germany with slogans: ‘fighting for the future,’ and ‘exclusion,’ ‘job insecurity’ (strips attached to the scythe) / Pic: Jan Woitas/dpa via AP
Climate Crisis / 11 July 2026
11 July 2026

The future does not have to be climate chaos and social breakdown. MARC VANDEPITTE looks at the alternatives offered by the Global Justice Report, co-authored by Thomas Piketty

 

People enjoy the hot weather in Battersea Park, London, June 24, 2026
Science and Society / 1 July 2026
1 July 2026

The recent heatwaves revealed how ill-prepared Britain remains for a hotter future – and how unequal the ability to cope with it has become, write ROX MIDDLETON, LIAM SHAW and MIRIAM GAUNTLETT

A pharmacy sign shows in Bordeaux, southwestern France, June 23, 2026
Climate / 30 June 2026
30 June 2026

Extreme heat is now one of the defining public health challenges of a warming world, explains Prof IAN WILLIAMS

ADAPT NOT REPLACE: Ger districts against a backdrop of new high-rise buildings in Ulaanbaatar / Pic: Bearded/Newspaper ‘Number One’/CC
Science and Society / 25 March 2026
25 March 2026

Coal-fired stoves in traditional homes are the primary source of extreme levels of air pollution in over-crowded Ulaanbaatar. As more people become climate-displaced, the situation is likely to worsen, write SCIENCE AND SOCIETY