Today marks the first-ever International Day of Glaciers' Preservation, designated by the United Nations within the framework of the 2025 International Year of Glaciers' Preservation, an initiative co-facilitated by UNESCO and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). From now on, 21 March will serve as a powerful reminder of the crucial role that glaciers play in maintaining the delicate balance between environmental stability and human livelihoods. It will also help us reflect on the fragility of these icy landscapes in need of urgent protection, which is not just a one-day mission, but an everyday responsibility.

UNESCO has long been a committed advocate for glacier protection, with glaciers being safeguarded under international instruments such as the World Heritage Convention. As many as 18,600 glaciers have been identified within World Heritage sites, representing nearly 10% of all glaciers inventoried on Earth. Like everywhere in the world, these glaciers have been retreating at an accelerating rate, losing, on average, 58 billion tonnes of ice every year and contributing to almost 5% of global sea-level rise.

According to the World Heritage Glaciers: Sentinels of climate change (2022), a report by UNESCO and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), glaciers in one-third of World Heritage glacierized sites are projected to disappear by 2050, regardless of the degree of global temperature increase. This includes the last remaining glaciers in Africa and some iconic sites in Europe and North America. Furthermore, if current greenhouse gas emissions continue, glaciers in around half of all World Heritage sites could vanish entirely by 2100. These striking figures speak for themselves, emphasising the urgent need for global action to preserve these icy landscapes, no matter their geographical location.

On the International Day of Glaciers' Preservation, UNESCO invites the public to learn more about the importance of glaciers within UNESCO designated sites through an interactive exhibition. This digital tool allows visitors to virtually experience glaciers in World Heritage sites and Biosphere Reserves, and to gain insights into how these places are being used for glacier monitoring, climate mitigation and adaptation responses. It also provides a unique opportunity to hear from individuals involved with glaciers found in these areas, including writers, academics and scientists.

Another avenue through which UNESCO seeks to deepen our understanding about the vanishing glacierised world is the publication The Voices of Glaciers, to be released in May 2025. The book is a collaborative effort between UNESCO and the French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development (IRD) aimed at documenting the disappearance of tropical glaciers and the human stories connected to them. The publication features 35 personal testimonies of scientists, artists, mountain guides, Indigenous Peoples and local communities, who share their personal and transformative experiences of glacial loss.

© UNESCO