Major tipping points for Earth’s ice sheets and mountain glaciers can occur at temperatures well below 1.5°C. Lead authors of two recent papers – one on ice sheets, the second on glaciers – urged governments to adopt far more ambitious climate commitments by COP30 to prevent the worst impacts. Historical records show that even current […]

Dear Friends of the Cryosphere Pavilion and Cryosphere Capsule Readers, Due to ongoing confusion and to avoid misrepresentation, ICCI and its partners wish to clarify that the Albedo Foundation’s Pavilion de la Cryosphère, located in the Green Zone at the third United Nations Oceans Conference (UNOC 3) which began in Nice today, has no association […]

Communications Earth and Environment, 30 May 2025 Research analyzing the Antarctic Ice Sheet’s behavior over the past 800,000 years finds that a minimal increase in ocean temperatures above today’s levels, or even no additional warming at all if today’s temperatures continue, could trigger the irreversible collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS). Historically, WAIS […]

Nature, 4 June 2025 The North Atlantic Ocean experienced an unprecedented marine heatwave in summer 2023, driven by unusually weak winds which slowed heat redistribution and rapidly warmed the ocean’s surface. In a single summer, this heatwave warmed North Atlantic waters at a speed equivalent to two decades of typical regional warming. Record-breaking low wind […]

Communications Earth and Environment, 31 May 2025 In areas of southwest Greenland, researchers found that the landscapes left behind following glacier retreat no longer behave as net carbon sinks, but as sources of carbon pollution to the atmosphere. Initially, glacial meltwater interacting with these newly exposed areas can lead to the absorption of carbon dioxide […]

Since 2016, Antarctic sea ice has remained below the long-term average, with extreme lows in recent summers and winters. These extremes impact terrestrial and marine ecosystems, heat and nutrient distribution, ocean circulation, and expose the margins of the Antarctic Ice Sheet to greater wave and storm activity. Speakers included Stefanie Ardent, Alfred Wegener Institute; Will […]

Science, 29 May 2025 An international study finds that glaciers are even more sensitive to global warming than previously estimated, with only 24% of present-day glacier mass remaining if the world warms to 2.7°C, the trajectory set by current climate policies. In contrast, limiting warming to 1.5°C would preserve 54% of glacier mass. These figures […]

American Geophysical Union, 21 May 2025 The Antarctic Slope Current (ASC), a major ocean current surrounding Antarctica, serves as a natural barrier by separating warm waters from Antarctic ice shelves. Researchers found that rising temperatures, increasing meltwater runoff, and shifting wind patterns will dramatically strengthen this current in coming decades if carbon emissions continue at […]

NPJ Climate and Atmospheric Science, 17 April 2025 An analysis of heatwaves in Northern Hemisphere permafrost regions finds that these extreme events will rapidly grow stronger and last longer after 2050 under high and very high emissions (SSP3-7.0 and 5-8.5), with dangerous implications for greater permafrost carbon emissions, as well as infrastructure stability. Low and […]

The Cryosphere, 24 April 2025 Scientists have developed a statistical technique to predict how snowfall and surface melting will influence the stability of Antarctic ice shelves under different emissions scenarios. They found that while most ice shelves remain safe from meltwater-driven fracturing under low emissions (SSP1-2.6), nearly all could become prone to hydrofracturing by 2150 […]

The International Glaciers Conference in Dushanbe closed on May 31, and proved a landmark halfway point in the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation (IYGP) 2025. It served also to raising cryosphere issues as countries prepare for the UNFCCC Subsidiary Bodies meetings in June (SB62) and later, COP30 in Brazil. Outcomes from this conference will be […]

Nature Communications, 20 May 2025 A study by four senior IPCC authors presents strong evidence that the Paris Agreement’s lower temperature limit of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels is too high to prevent significant sea-level rise from Antarctica and Greenland. Even current warming levels at 1.2°C, if sustained, will likely lead to several meters of sea-level […]

Nature Communications, 19 May 2025 A global assessment of mountain glaciers reveals that even temporarily exceeding 1.5°C of warming will have irreversible and long-lasting consequences on these vital ice reservoirs, which serve as water towers for surrounding and downstream regions. These escalating consequences of even incremental, temporary temperature rise pose a deadly hazard to communities […]

Nature Communications, 30 April 2025 A study monitoring Arctic plant diversity in response to climate change finds that 60% of more than 2,000 monitored plots spread across the Circumpolar North have endured extensive changes, either gaining new species and/or loosing existing ones over the past four decades. The greatest species gains and losses occurred in […]

The International Conference on Glaciers Preservation will take place in Dushanbe from May 29-31. The conference will build momentum in global efforts to highlight the critical role of glaciers and snowpack and energize climate action during the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation (IYGP). Importantly, it will strengthen conversations between heads of state and government, national […]