Glaciers play a crucial role in sustaining our planet. Their meltwater is essential for drinking water, agriculture, industry, clean energy production, and ecosystem preservation.

However, their accelerated melting disrupts water resources, endangering millions of people and the global environmental balance. To address this urgent issue, it is critical to reduce carbon emissions worldwide and implement local strategies to adapt to the gradual disappearance of glaciers.

On this World Water Day, let's take action to make glacier preservation a key part of our fight against climate change and the global water crisis.

The water cycle is nature's way of continuously recycling water. It consists of four key stages:

• Evaporation: The sun's heat causes water from oceans, rivers, and lakes to turn into vapor
• Condensation: As the water vapor rises, it cools and forms clouds
• Precipitation: When clouds become heavy, water falls back to Earth as rain, snow, sleet or hail
• Infiltration and runoff: Water collects in rivers, lakes, oceans, and underground reservoirs called aquifers

Every drop of water we drink today has been part of this continuous cycle for billions of years !

In 2023, glaciers lost over 660 billion tons of water—the highest recorded loss in 50 years

About 70% of Earth's freshwater is locked in snow and ice

Up to 60% of the world's freshwater resources come from mountains

The melting of glaciers significantly contributes to rising sea levels, which are now about 8 inches (20 cm) higher than in 1900

Limiting global warming to 2.7°F could save glaciers in two-thirds of UNESCO World Heritage sites