Glaciers began to melt a third faster than 15 years ago

 Scientists analyzed satellite data and showed that glaciers all over the world began to melt faster. Now they lose 31% more snow and ice annually than 15 years ago.

Satellite observations allowed researchers to look at the picture of melting glaciers more fully. It turned out that even the shields, which were considered stable, began to lose more and more ice

Using 20 years of declassified satellite data, scientists estimate that the world's 220,000 mountain glaciers have collectively lost more than 298 billion metric tons of ice and snow over the past 5 years. This volume of water is enough to cover the area of Switzerland with a layer of ice 7.2 meters thick.

The melting of glaciers poses a serious threat to both the environment and humanity. It can lead to changes in temperature, precipitation and other climate parameters in regions dependent on glaciers. And also to abnormal weather phenomena, such as floods, landslides and landslides. Many rivers and streams are fed by water flowing from glaciers. Melting could reduce access to drinking water for millions of people around the world.

The annual rate of melting from 2015 to 2019 was found to be 71 billion metric tons per year greater than between 2000 and 2004. According to researchers, the rate of ice melting in Alaska is one of the highest on the planet, and the Columbia Glacier is retreating at about 35 meters per year. The authors also showed that almost all glaciers on the planet are melting, even those that were previously considered stable, for example, located in Tibet.

According to scientists, this uniform melting reflects the increasing pace of global warming, which is accelerated by the burning of coal, oil and gas. Some smaller glaciers disappear completely. Two years ago, scientists, activists and government officials in Iceland held a funeral for a small glacier.

In their work, scientists used satellite 3D images for the first time to study all of the Earth's glaciers that are not part of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets. Past studies either used only part of the glaciers or estimated the amount of ice and snow loss using gravity measurements from orbit. These gravity readings have a large margin of error, so the exact extent of glacier melting remained unknown. Based on the obtained data, scientists assume that the rise in the level of the world ocean around the world will become one of the main problems in the second half of the 21st century.