The UN has warned that retreating glaciers are threatening the food and water supplies of 2 billion people worldwide, underlining that current 'unprecedented' rates of melting will have unpredictable consequences.
According to a UNESCO report, two-thirds of all irrigated agriculture in the world will be affected in some way by the retreat of glaciers and reduced snowfall in mountainous regions caused by the climate crisis.
More than a billion people live in mountainous regions, and close to half of people in developing countries already experience food insecurity. This is likely to worsen as food production in such regions depends on mountain water, melting snow and glaciers, according to the World Water Development Report 2025.
The report says developed countries are also at risk. In the US, for example, the Colorado River basin has been in drought since 2000, and warmer temperatures mean more precipitation falls as rain, which runs off mountain snow faster and worsens drought conditions.
“Wherever we live, we all depend in some way on mountains and glaciers,” said Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO Director-General. “But these natural water towers are in imminent danger. This report shows the need for urgent action.”
The pace of glacier change is at its worst on record, according to the World Meteorological Organization's annual State of the Climate report, released this week. The study found that the largest three-year glacier mass loss on record has occurred in the past three years, with Norway, Sweden, Svalbard and the tropical Andes among the worst-hit regions.
East Africa has lost 80% of its glaciers in places, and in the Andes, between a third and a half of its glaciers have melted since 1998. In Europe, glaciers in the Alps and Pyrenees, which were hit hardest, have shrunk by around 40% in about the same period.
Abou Amani, director of water sciences at UNESCO, added that the decline of glaciers has an even greater impact, with ice loss replacing a reflective surface with dark soil that absorbs heat. “The melting of glaciers affects the reflectivity of [solar] radiation, and this will affect the entire climate system,” he warned.
