From Antarctica to Greenland to the Himalayas, study after study in 2019 reported the world’s ice is melting at an accelerated rate. New scientific innovations allowed researchers to better quantify mass ice losses, and their studies exposed startling trends. The new findings paint a troubling future for glaciers around the world: If current ice-loss rates continue, scientists predict the collapse of glaciers around the world before the end of the century.
Sled Dogs in Greenland. (Credit: Steffen M. Olsen/DMI)
Steffen M. Olsen/DMI
Ok, former glacier, Iceland (Credit: Ragnar Antoniussen)
Ragnar Antoniussen
Ok Glacier Plaque (Credit: Rice University)
Rice University
Himalayas, 1975 (Credit: Joshua Maurer)
Joshua Maurer
Russell Glacier in Greenland. (Credit: NASA's Operation IceBridge)
NASA's Operation IceBridge
Antarctica ice flow map. (Credit: Jeremie Mouginot/UC Irvine)
Jeremie Mouginot/UC Irvine
LeConte Glacier, Alaska (Credit: Ginger Robinson/Flickr)
Ginger Robinson/Flickr
[This story originally appeared in print as "A Melting Planet."]
