A new study with ETH Zurich finds that if global warming exceeds the Paris Climate Agreement targets, the non-polar glacier mass will diminish significantly. However, if warming is limited to 1.5°C, at least 54% could be preserved—more than twice as much ice as in a 2.

As glaciers melt, they can also increase the risk of deadly floods and landslides. A glacial collapse in Switzerland this week destroyed most of an Alpine village. And if glaciers shrink enough, communities can lose crucial sources of freshwater for drinking, irrigation and hydropower.

There is a 70 percent chance that average global temperatures will by 2029 exceed the 1.5 degrees Celsius warming benchmark, significantly intensifying heatwaves, extreme precipitation, droughts,

New research reveals mountain glaciers across the globe will not recover for centuries—even if human intervention cools the planet back to the 1.5°C limit, having exceeded it.

New projections show that temporarily overshooting this limit—even up to 3°C—would lock in severe and irreversible glacier loss. Mountain ranges from the Alps to the Andes would see a major decline in ice mass, fueling long-term sea-level rise and disrupting critical water supplies for communities.

Global warming is expected to send temperatures soaring at or near record levels over the next five years, according to a Wednesday report from the World Meteorological Organization.

A new study finds that if global warming exceeds the Paris Climate Agreement targets, the non-polar glacier mass will diminish significantly. However, if warming is limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius, at least 54 per cent could be preserved -- more than twice as much ice as in a 2.