icon linkedin

World Water Day 2025 – Glacier Preservation

world water day glaciers
Home All News

Mar 19, 2025

Happy World Water Day! 

This year’s theme? Glacier Preservation. You know, those massive, sparkling rivers of ancient ice quietly chilling at the ends of the Earth. They’re more than just jaw-dropping holiday backdrops or climate change poster children—they’re essential to life as we know it. So, grab your favorite reusable water bottle, and let’s take a cool dive into why glaciers are such a big deal. 

The Icy Giants: Nature’s Ultimate Water Tanks
Glaciers are no ordinary ice cubes. Think of them as slow-moving, mega-frozen water reservoirs. They form in places where it snows a lot and doesn’t get warm enough to melt all that snow away. Over time, layer after layer of snow compresses into dense, crystalline ice. It’s a slow process—think centuries, not days—but the result is worth the wait. (Post and Lachapelle, 2000). 

Surprising fact alert: About 70% of the world’s fresh water is locked up in glaciers and ice caps! (Shiklomanov, 1993). That’s a lot of water sitting on ice. 

world water day glaciers
Greenland: The Big Gulp of Freshwater
Let’s talk about Greenland, home to the largest ice cap outside of Antarctica. At one point, it covered over 2.4 million square kilometers, with ice sheets towering as high as 4,300 meters in some areas (U.S. Geological Survey, 2019). 

But here’s the kicker—since the mid-1800s, glaciers and ice caps have been shrinking. And now, they’re disappearing faster than ever (Kaser et al., 2006). Spoiler alert: That’s bad news. 

Melting Ice = more fresh water
Many parts of the world are facing a scarcity of clean fresh water for drinking (Mokale, 2024). On the surface, melting glaciers might seem like a win—more fresh water, right? Not exactly. Most of that glacial meltwater rushes straight into the ocean. It’s not sitting around in nice, tidy lakes waiting for us to fill our cups. Instead, it’s helping to raise the global mean sea level (Oppenheimer et al., 2019). 

 

In 2013, sea levels were rising at about 2.4 mm per year (Chen, Wilson, & Tapley, 2013). Fast forward to 2024, and it’s jumped to 4.5 mm per year (Hamlington et al., 2024). That may sound small, but trust me—it’s not. 

Rising Seas, Salty Sources
Here’s where things get really salty—literally. As the sea level rises, saltwater pushes its way into freshwater aquifers, especially in areas close to the coast. We’re talking about groundwater sources that supply drinking water and irrigation for over a billion people living within 10 kilometers of a coastline (Cosby et al., 2024). 

Saltwater intrusion already accounts for 60% of groundwater pollution in coastal aquifers (Masciopinto & Liso, 2016). Australia knows this struggle all too well (Morgan & Werner, 2015). And with more people moving to coastal areas, this salty situation is only getting stickier. 

glaciar and mountain
Water You Waiting For? Time to Act!
With glaciers melting and sea levels rising, it’s more important than ever to get smart about water management. Cities and communities need to plan—think long-term strategies like diversifying water sources, building more storage, and upgrading treatment plants to handle saltier water (U.S. EPA, 2024)—as well as identify and implement adaptive strategies to ensure their supply of usable fresh water remains secure (Kwadjik et al., 2010).  

We’re talking about future-proofing here. Whether it’s redesigning land use near vulnerable water sources or beefing up wastewater infrastructure, the time to act is yesterday.  

Final Thoughts: Ice Ice Maybe?

Glaciers are melting. Sea levels are rising. But all hope isn’t lost—if we pay attention and take action. So this World Water Day, let’s toast (with a reusable cup, of course) to these frozen giants and the freshwater lifelines they represent. Because when it comes to glaciers, what happens on the ice doesn’t stay on the ice. 

Drop your questions below or share how you’re celebrating World Water Day! 

0 Comments

References

Chen, J. L., Wilson, C. R,, & Tapley, B. D. (2013). Contribution of ice sheet and mountain glacier melt to recent sea level rise. Nature Geoscience 6(549–552). 

Cosby, A. G., Lebakula, V., Smith, C. N., Wanik, D. W., Bergene, K., Rose, A. N., Swanson, D., & Bloom, D. E., (2024). Accelerating growth of human coastal populations at the global and continent levels: 2000-2018. Scientific Reports 14(22489). 

Hamlington, B. D., Bellas-Manley, A., Willis, J. K., Fournier, S., Vinogradova, N., Nerem, R. S., Piecuch, C. G., Thompson, P. R., & Kopp, R., (2024). The rate of global sea level rise doubled during the past three decades. Communications Earth & Environment 5(601). 

Kaser, G., Cogley, J. G., Dyurgerov, M. B., Meier, M. F., & Ohmura, A. (2006). Mass balance of glaciers and ice caps: Consensus estimates for 1961-2004. Geophysical Research Letters 33(L19501). 

Kwadijik, J. C. J., Haasnoot, M., Mulder, J. P. M., Hoogvliet, M. M. C., Jeuken, A. B. M., van der Krogt, R. A. A., van Oostrom, N. G. C., Schelfhout, H. A., van Velzen, E. H., van Waveren, H., & de Wit, M. J. M., (2010). Using adaptation tipping points to prepare for climate change and sea level rise: a case study in the Netherlands. WIREs Climate Change 1(5). 

Masciopinto, C. & Liso, I. S., (2016). Assessment of the impact of sea-level rise due to climate change on coastal groundwater discharge. Science of the Total Environment 569-570. 

Mokale, S., (2024). SA is a water scarce country. Government Opinion Pieces. Government of South Africa Office of Information and Services. https://www.gov.za/blog/sa-water-scarce-country. 

Morgan, L. K. & Werner, A. D., (2015). A national inventory of seawater intrusion vulnerability for Australia. Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies 4B. 

Oppenheimer, M., B.C. Glavovic , J. Hinkel, R. van de Wal, A.K. Magnan, A. Abd-Elgawad, R. Cai, M. Cifuentes-Jara, R.M. DeConto, T. Ghosh, J. Hay, F. Isla, B. Marzeion, B. Meyssignac, and Z. Sebesvari, 2019: Sea Level Rise and Implications for Low-Lying Islands, Coasts and Communities. In: IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate [H.-O. Pörtner, D.C. Roberts, V. Masson-Delmotte, P. Zhai, M. Tignor, E. Poloczanska, K. Mintenbeck, A. Alegría, M. Nicolai, A. Okem, J. Petzold, B. Rama, N.M. Weyer (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 

Post, A., & LaChapelle, E. R.  (2000). Glacier Formation and Mass Balance. Glacier Ice (revised edition). University of Toronto Press.  

Shiklomanov, I. (1993). World Fresh Water Resources. In Gleick, P. H. (editor), Water in Crisis: A Guide to the World’s Fresh Water Resources. Oxford University Press. 

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, (2024). Climate Impacts on Water Utilities. Climate Change Adaptation Resource Center (ARC-X). https://www.epa.gov/arc-x/climate-impacts-water-utilities#sealevel 

U.S. Geological Survey, (2019). Ice, Snow, and Glaciers and the Water Cycle. Water Science School. https://www.usgs.gov/special-topics/water-science-school/science/ice-snow-and-glaciers-and-water-cycle 

 

    Recent News

    .