Scientists Warn of Irreversible Ice Loss and Accelerated Sea Level Rise

International Cryosphere Climate Initiative calls for a tighter global warming limit of 1.5 degrees Celsius at the upcoming COP28 summit.

The International Cryosphere Climate Initiative (ICCI) warns that a global temperature increase of just 2 degrees Celsius this century will cause irreversible harm to ice sheets, glaciers, snow, sea ice and permafrost, and accelerate sea level rise.
The ICCI calls on nations attending the COP28 climate summit to define 1.5 degrees as the upper limit for global warming, a tighter limit than the 2 degrees agreed in the 2015 Paris Agreement.
Sea level rise, driven by ice loss from glaciers and ice sheets, exposes millions more people to flooding and creates massive economic harms.
Almost 2 billion people in Asia rely on meltwater from mountain glaciers and snow for irrigation, drinking water and electricity generation, which is threatened by the current global warming trajectory.
The melting of permafrost is now emitting around the same amount of greenhouse gases as a top-10 emitting country, potentially increasing if critical climate targets are missed.