Surface temperatures in the Arctic are more than three times higher than the global average. The communities, ecosystems, and species living in this region already experience accelerating impacts from climate change, especially those associated with extreme events. This session from the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program (AMAP), a working group of the Arctic Council amplifies […]

News Briefing: 20 July 2022 Temperatures in northern Greenland are running 5-7°C (10°F) warmer than normal for this time of year; and last week, three consecutive days of extremely high temperatures triggered rapid melting in this region, which normally stays below freezing even in much of the summer. Between July 15 and 17, the Greenland […]

Nature Communications, 21 July 2022 Under a high-emissions scenario, ice loss driven by the absorption of heat from the sun could increase by one third across the Greenland Ice Sheet before the end of the century. Clouds act as a shield; they help prevent shortwave and longwave radiation reaching the ground. As global temperatures rise, […]

Springer Science: Landslides, 23 July 2022 Permafrost also exists on Greenland; and rising global temperatures have accelerated its thaw, increasing the vulnerability of coastal mountain regions to unpredictable landslides and collapse. The melting of this frozen ground can open deep fractures in rocky cliffs. These expanding fractures allow rainfall and snowmelt to trickle into the […]

This session introduces “Mountains of Opportunity,” a new approach to scale up investment in mountain-specific climate priorities across the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region by ICIMOD (the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development). This effort aims to help vulnerable communities mobilize resources in the face of snow and ice loss driven by rising global temperatures. […]

News Briefing: 14 July 2022 More than thirty glacial lakes in the Himalaya, Hindu Kush and Karakoram mountains of Pakistan are at risk of bursting and releasing several million cubic meters of water and debris. In May, a devastating glacial lake outburst flood rushed through the village of Hassanabad in Pakistan and swept away nearly […]

News Briefing: 19 July 2022 Glaciologists are monitoring a new crack on the Marmolada Glacier that partially collapsed earlier this month, intensifying concerns that such unpredictable threats could become more frequent and widespread as heatwaves intensified this week across Europe. During the beginning of July, an ice shelf broke away from the Marmolada, producing an […]

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 18 July 2022 Under a high emissions scenario, 80% of the water contained within the winter snowpack across the Rocky Mountains could disappear by the end of the century. Mountain snowpack is a natural reservoir of freshwater. As it melts throughout the spring and summer, it provides a […]

Scientific Reports, 20 July 2022 Even small glacial lake outburst floods in the mountains can transform into huge debris flows, sweeping boulders across large regions as loose sediment triggers additional landslides. This study found that such debris flows can worsen the loss and damage caused by future such floods. Melting glaciers generate large meltwater lakes […]

This session focuses on high-impact solutions that can deliver climate action in the Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region at the speed and scale necessary to face threats from glacier loss; and suggests opportunities to strengthen the resilience of mountain communities and economies. Organized by ICIMOD, the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, the event took […]

Nature Geoscience, 23 June 2022 The accelerated retreat of glaciers in the Himalayas and other high mountain regions of Asia is posing deadly risks to local communities, destabilizing the landscape and threatening to overwhelm numerous hydropower projects. As temperatures rise further, the snow and ice resources in high-altitude regions experience warming two to three times […]

Nature Geoscience, 7 July 2022 Increasing emissions of ozone-depleting substances has weakened the ozone layer over the Arctic, contributing to extreme weather anomalies across the entire Northern Hemisphere. Ozone serves as a protective barrier in the high atmosphere, absorbing harmful radiation from the sun. As emissions rise, the ozone layer thins above the Arctic. The […]

Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 21 June 2022 Rising temperatures from continued high CO2 emissions may cut in half the number of days the Alps are covered in snow by the end of the century, jeopardizing seasonal water supplies for millions across much of Europe. The disappearance of the snow cover would be particularly harmful […]

ICCI releases weekly summaries describing the latest findings in cryosphere research and news. These summaries are known as our Cryosphere Capsules and are published as an e-newsletter every Friday. The Cryosphere Capsules are aimed at policymakers, scientists, and anyone with an interest in the cryosphere. Sign up below.