Study: half of the glaciers will disappear by 2100
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Half of the planet’s glaciers will melt by 2100, even if humanity adheres to the goals set out in the Paris Climate Agreement. This is stated in the study, which shows that the scale and consequences of the loss of glaciers are greater than previously thought.
Half of the predicted ice sheet loss will occur in the next 30 years.
The researchers found that 49% of glaciers would disappear under the most optimistic 1.5°C warming scenario. However, if global warming continues under the current 2.7°C warming scenario, the losses will be more significant: 68% of glaciers, according to the journal article Science.
If this happens, there will be almost no glaciers left in central Europe, western Canada, and the United States by the end of the next century.
This will significantly contribute to sea level rise, jeopardize the water supply of up to 2 billion people, and increase the risk of natural disasters such as floods. The study considered all glacial land ice, except for the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets.
If temperature rise is limited to 1.5°C warming, mean sea level will rise by 90 mm by 2100, but with 2.7°C warming, glacier melt will result in sea level rise of about 115 mm.
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