Overview

• An estimated 39% of global glacier mass is already locked in for loss even if temperatures stabilize at today’s 1.2°C, adding over 10 cm to long-term sea-level rise.
• Limiting warming to 1.5°C could preserve 54% of present-day glacier ice compared to just 24% under a 2.7°C pathway driven by current climate policies.
• Regional impacts vary sharply: the European Alps, North American Rockies and Scandinavia face near-total ice loss at 2°C warming; Hindu Kush Himalaya glaciers risk shedding up to 75% of their mass by century’s end.
• All scenarios project rapid melting over coming decades followed by continued thinning for centuries without further warming, making today’s emissions choices determinant for future glacier health.
• The study’s release coincides with the UN’s first High-Level International Conference on Glaciers’ Preservation, highlighting rising global focus on water security and sea-level threats.