Damage from Melting Glaciers and Ice Sheets Can Still Be Prevented

Glaciers around the world have lost an average of 273 billion metric tons of ice each year between 2000 and 2023, with losses accelerating sharply in recent years. Yet, according to the latest 2025 State of the Cryosphere Report coordinated by the International Cryosphere Climate Initiative (ICCI), global damage from further glacier loss can still be significantly reduced — if governments align climate policies with the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C target.

The report warns that continued global warming will lead to irreversible damage, but immediate, ambitious emission cuts could slow and even stabilize ice loss by the 2060s.

Global Ice Loss: A Dire Warning

Regions such as Scandinavia and western North America are projected to lose nearly all their glaciers at 2°C of warming. However, a 1.5°C trajectory would help preserve around 20% of the existing ice in these areas.

In High Mountain Asia, even a 1.5°C pathway would result in a 60% loss of existing ice, compared to 85% loss at 3°C. The Hindu Kush and Karakoram ranges—once relatively stable—could see 40% ice loss at 2°C, but this could be limited to 15% under 1.5°C.

The difference between 1.5°C and 2°C, scientists emphasize, is not just a number—it represents the difference between manageable and catastrophic levels of water, food, economic, and political insecurity for billions.

“However, with ambitious emissions cuts, glacier and snow loss can slow and begin to stabilize by the 2060s,” the authors note.

A Call for Action at COP30

Dr. James Kirkham, Chief Scientist of the Ambition on Melting Ice (AMI) high-level group of nations and one of the report’s authors, urged decisive action: “Policy makers at COP30 must stop denying this physical reality and finally deliver the deep, rapid and sustained emissions reductions needed to protect global security from accelerating ice losses.”

Without stronger commitments, the world remains on track for well above 2°C of warming, which the report describes as a “disaster for billions.”

Scientific Findings and Consequences

• Sea-level rise: Even at current warming levels of 1.2°C, global sea levels are expected to rise by several meters over coming centuries — exceeding coastal adaptation limits.

• Regional losses: The European Alps, Scandinavia, North American Rockies, and Iceland could lose at least half their ice at or below 1°C, and almost all at 2°C.

• Sea ice decline: Combined Arctic and Antarctic sea ice reached its lowest recorded area in February 2025.

• Ocean acidification: Polar waters have reached dangerously acidic levels, threatening marine ecosystems and food chains.

• Permafrost thaw: For the first time, permafrost has become a net source of carbon emissions, releasing more carbon than it absorbs.

The report also highlights evidence that freshwater runoff from melting Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, combined with warming oceans, is slowing major ocean currents, threatening global climate stability and potentially cooling northern Europe drastically.

Hope in High Ambition Pathways

Despite the alarming data, the report underscores that the worst outcomes are not inevitable.

New modeling from Climate Analytics and the Potsdam Institute outlines “Highest Possible Ambition (HPA)” pathways that could bring global temperatures back below 1.5°C by 2100, and even approach 1°C in the next century—if emissions are aggressively reduced starting now.

This could slow and then halt glacier, snow, and sea ice loss, and reduce permafrost thaw. However, parts of West Antarctica’s ice sheet may already have crossed irreversible tipping points.

Conclusion

The message from the 2025 State of the Cryosphere Report is clear:

“Preserving the Earth’s cryosphere now means reaching 1.5°C by 2100 and lowering temperatures towards 1°C thereafter.”

Immediate, coordinated global action remains the only path to prevent further irreversible damage — safeguarding not just glaciers and polar regions, but the future of life on Earth.

The writer of this article is Dr. Seema Javed, an environmentalist & a communications professional in the field of climate and energy