Melting of Glaciers and Rising of Sea Level

In the high Artic, climate change does not happen in silence but it sounds like a shotgun blast as a thousand-year-old ice shelf fractures and slides into the sea.

To understand why a rising ocean threatens a coastal city, we have to understand the importance of glaciers and what it actually does. It is a mistake to think of them as passive frozen scenery since they are a major source of freshwater that feeds rivers used to generate hydroelectricity. Glaciers being a marvellous creation of nature not only acts as a beautiful part of our biological landscape but also as an important factor for tourism and GDP.

Glaciers are beautifully and culturally important, they shape our mountains and environment and bring out spectacular scenery. Their shrinkage and recession remains one of the most visible impacts of climatic changes. They are also considered to be sacred and having deep symbolism. The African tribes living at the base of Mount Kilimanjaro consider the ice caps to be ‘house of God’ and adore them from a distance whereas in Himalayan Bhutan people consider the mountains to be the abodes of their deities even in Hinduism the mountains are considered to be the sacred abodes of the Gods. In the Peruvian Andes the locals argue that the world will end when the snow melts of the Mount Ausangate.

They are also very important for tourism and GDP. Glaciers are great attractions for the tourists worldwide for their mesmerizing scenic beauty. From the cruise ships in Juneau, Alaska to skiers in Tignes, France the people flock to enjoy the beauties of the glaciers. These tourists bring a mass economic value to the locals. More than USD$81 million per year is directly contributed to the economy by the tourists associated with the glaciers in New Zealand. This tourism provides employment opportunities and infrastructure which benefits the locals. In Nepal there was a 10% loss in GDP from glacier melts showing just how important the glaciers are for a country.

Glacier based drainage basins covers 26% of the global land surface outside of Greenland and Antarctica and contains about one-third of the world’s population. Upland areas which are 2000m above the sea-level in southeast Asia supply water to five water basins which are Indus, Brahmaputra, Yellow, Ganges and Yangtze rivers which provide water to 1.4 billion people covering 20% of the world’s population. Glacier meltwater run-off contribute to downstream water flow, affecting freshwater availability for irrigation, hydro-power and ecosystems.

The world is facing a rapid meltdown of the glaciers and rise of sea level and the question arises how does it actually occur. Since the early 1900s the glaciers are melting at an unprecedented rate and human activities are the root cause of this phenomenon. Specifically, since the industrial revolution, carbon dioxide and many green-house gas emissions have raised the temperature even in the polar regions and as a result the glaciers are rapidly melting. Even if we significantly lessen the emissions in the coming decades, more than one-third of the world’s remaining glaciers will melt off by or before the year 2100. When it comes to sea-ice, around 95% of the oldest and thickest ice in the Arctic has already melted off which a very concerning matter.

Now the question is how does the melting of glaciers affect the sea-level. The meltwater from the glaciers increase the sea level which in turn increases the coastal erosion and elevates storm surge as warming air and ocean temperatures create more frequent and intense coastal storms like hurricanes and typhoons. To specify, the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets are considered the largest contributors of global sea level rise. Currently, the Greenland ice sheet is disappearing four times faster than in 2003 and already contributes 20% of current sea level rise. If the emissions continue to rise, the current rate of melting on the Greenland ice sheet is expected to be double by the end of the century. The alarming thing is that, if all the ice on Greenland melts, it would raise global sea levels by 20 feet.

This phenomenon is not only a threat to the wildlife but also for humans. As the sea ice and glaciers melt and the oceans get warmer, the ocean currents continue to disrupt weather patterns worldwide. Industries that thrive on vibrant fisheries get affected as warmer waters change where and when the fishes spawn. Coastal communities continue to face billion-dollar disaster recovery bills as flooding becomes more frequent and storms become more intense. In the Arctic, as sea ice melts, wildlife like walrus lose their homes and polar bears start to spend more time on land which causes higher rates of conflict between people and bears

Since glaciologists has concluded that we still have time to prevent the damages from happening so we the very individuals living on earth should take proper measures to prevent the glacier melt-offs in order to protect the wildlife and also the human civilisation. There are various measures by which we can prevent the melting of glaciers such as at the global level the most immediate and obvious action would be to reduce emissions and to limit the global temperature to 1.5 degree Celsius. At the national level the countries need to develop specific policies to protect and safeguard the glaciers they have, and should integrate glaciers into national climate policies and adaptation planning. Which means integrating glaciers into national water management and flood protection strategies. At the individual level we the individuals should reduce the use of fossil fuels, minimize plastic consumption and adopt sustainable lifestyles.

The glaciers have contributed a lot to the world let it be from their scenic beauty or their contribution to the country’s economies and producing hydroelectricity so it is our responsibility to protect the glaciers.

WriteToWin Monsoon 2026