Some retreating glaciers cannot be saved, and urgent action is required to save the rest

This is the alarming conclusion of a new study that examined the fate of glaciers around the world. Researchers found that some glaciers have already crossed a tipping point and will disappear completely in the next few decades, regardless of how much we reduce greenhouse gas emissions. These glaciers include those in the Alps, the Himalayas, and Greenland. That outcome is locked in and humanity's unwillingness to act on climate change - a phenomenon which was first identified in the 19th Century and linked to burning of fossil fuels in the 1970s - has driven this irreversible change.

There is still hope for other glaciers that have not yet reached this point of no return though. Studies estimate that limiting global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels would preserve up to 70% of the ice in those glaciers which are not beyond saving. 

However, further delaying climate action will have dire consequences. Allowing global warming to reach 2°C or more could result in the loss of up to 90% of the glacier ice by the end of the century. Without considering other effects of failing to act on climate change, the release of so much freshwater results in sea level rise, desalination of the oceans and makes it more likely that storms and storm surges are larger and more damaging.

We cannot keep global warming below 2°C if we continue to follow our current path, never mind hope to hit 1.5°C.

The message is clear: some retreating glaciers cannot be saved, and action is required to save the rest. Only by acting now to reduce carbon emissions and to limit global warming can we hope to save them though. This is not just a moral duty, but also a matter of survival for our children and their grandchildren.