Half of the world’s glaciers—frozen reservoirs holding three-quarters of the global water supply—could “disappear” by the end of the century under 1.5C of warming, a study concludes.

Even if the world is successful in meeting its most ambitious climate goal of 1.5C, glaciers could lose a quarter of their total mass by 2100—raising global sea levels by 90mm.

The world is not currently on track for 1.5C. The research finds that country promises made at the COP26 climate summit in 2021, which could lead to 2.7C of warming, would cause “the near-complete deglaciation of entire regions” including central Europe, western North America and New Zealand.

If global warming reaches 4C, 83% of the world’s glaciers could disappear, the study adds.

As well as providing most of the world’s freshwater, glaciers support unique ecosystems and are considered sacred in […]