New Tool Shows When Glaciers Around the World Could Disappear
A new interactive map lets users explore projected extinction dates for glaciers worldwide under different global warming scenarios.
A new interactive tool is offering a closer look at how climate change could affect individual glaciers worldwide, showing projected extinction timelines under different global warming scenarios.
The Global Glacier Extinction Explorer, developed by researchers from ETH Zurich and Vrije Universiteit Brussel, allows users to search for glaciers and examine how their futures could change as temperatures rise. The tool is based on research published in *Nature Climate Change* that assesses individual glaciers rather than focusing only on global ice loss.
Researchers project that glacier disappearances could peak around the middle of this century. Under 1.5°C of warming, about 2,000 glaciers could disappear annually around 2041. With warming reaching 4°C, the peak could rise to roughly 4,000 glacier losses a year during the mid-2050s.
The long-term difference between warming scenarios is significant. By 2100, nearly half of today's glaciers could survive if warming is limited to 1.5°C. At 2.7°C, around 20% could remain, while fewer than 10% may survive under 4°C of warming.
The projections are not fixed deadlines, as glacier loss depends on factors including elevation, size, shape and local climate. However, some glaciers are already disappearing. In Switzerland, the Bella Tola and Urirotstock glaciers were declared extinct in 2026.
Researchers say the changes highlight that glacier extinction is already occurring and that limiting global warming could significantly reduce future losses.
