Boys & Girls Clubs of America

This content requires you to sign in

If you are part of a BGCA Organization, you can use your BGCA Account to access Club Programs.

Playbook November 18th

Playbook November 18th

0 reviews

What happens when glaciers disappear?

The losses could also have profound impacts on people who depend on glaciers for water.

Aguayo notes that the percentages of ice volume lost don't necessarily translate into how much water supply could be reduced by.

"It could be worse," he says, noting that meltwater could be significantly reduced during dry periods in certain catchments where communities rely on them for drinking water.

People not living near glaciers could also be affected through sea level rise.

The world’s glaciers hold about a foot of sea level rise and have already raised sea levels by around half-an-inch during the past 20 years.

"It doesn't seem like much," says glaciologist Catherine Walker at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, who wasn’t involved in the study.

But she adds: “If you start thinking about the physical realities at a place with a 10-foot-plus storm-surge, I think you would rather not have a foot more coming in from all these glaciers melting.”