Paris. A third of the glaciers declared world heritage by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) will disappear by 2050, “whatever the climate scenario,” warned that institution yesterday, which called for “reducing carbon dioxide emissions rapidly” to preserve the remaining two-thirds.
The study covers 18,600 glaciers totaling 66,000 square kilometers, spread over 50 World Heritage Sites, that is, 10 percent of the total glacial surface of the Earth, “representative” of the state of the world’s glaciers, UNESCO said in a statement.
According to the report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, published in the spring, the melting of ice and snow is one of the 10 main threats caused by global warming.
World heritage glaciers lose 58 billion tons of ice each year, the same amount of water used annually by France and Spain, which contributes to the rise in sea level around the world, UNESCO added.
The two-thirds that are not going to disappear forcibly “could be saved if we limit global warming to 1.5 degrees,” the agency added.
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,” said UNESCO director Audrey Azoulay.
All of Africa’s world heritage-listed glaciers are likely to be “disappeared” by 2050, including those in Tanzania’s Kilimanjaro National Park.
In Europe, the glaciers of the Pyrenees-Monte Perdido in France and Spain, as well as those of the Dolomites in Italy and those of the Yellowstone and Yosemite national parks in the United States, are under threat.
Glaciers in China’s Yunan Three Parallel Rivers Protected Areas have lost more than half their volume and are the fastest melting among the designated sites.
“Around 50 percent of world heritage glaciers could disappear completely by 2100, in a scenario in which emissions continue 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 fund for monitoring glaciers.”
Some of the world’s most famous glaciers will disappear by 2050 due to global warming – regardless of the temperature rise scenario, reports the UN. Via GraphicNews.
#world #heritage #glaciers #disappear #UNESCO