A third of the glaciers declared World Heritage by Unesco will disappear by 2050, “whatever the climate scenario”, warned Thursday the UN entity, calling for “rapidly reduce CO2 emissions” to preserve the remaining two thirds .

The study covers 18,600 glaciers totaling 66,000 square kilometers, spread over 50 world heritage sites, i.e. 10% of the total glacial surface of the Earth, “representative” of the state of the planet’s glaciers, specifies UNESCO in a statement.

According to the report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the melting of ice and snow is one of the ten main threats caused by global warming.

World Heritage glaciers lose 58 billion tonnes of ice every year, the same amount of water used annually by France and Spain, contributing to global sea level rise, according to the UNESCO.

The two thirds that are not going to disappear by force “could be saved if we limit global warming to 1.5 degrees”, added the UN body for education, science and culture.

The UN climate conference to be held from November 6 to 18 in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el Sheikh will be “crucial in helping to find solutions”, UNESCO director Audrey Azoulay said.

Most likely, all of Africa’s World Heritage-listed glaciers will have “disappeared” by 2050, including those in Kilimanjaro National Park in Tanzania.

In Europe, the glaciers of the Pyrénées-Mont Perdu in France and Spain, as well as those of the Dolomites in Italy and those of the national parks of Yellowstone and Yosemite in the United States.

Glaciers in China’s Yunan Three Parallel Rivers Protected Areas have lost more than half their volume and are the fastest melting among designated sites.

“Around 50% of World Heritage glaciers could be completely gone by 2100 under a scenario where emissions remain at current levels,” the organization warned.

In addition to calling for a “drastic” reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, UNESCO calls for the creation of an “international glacier monitoring fund”.

Also read other Normal content ⬇️