Glacier melting has been a problem that should not be underestimated in the context of global warming.
A new study published in Science predicts changes in global glacier volume by 2100 under different conditions of carbon emissions and rising global temperatures.
The researchers predicted changes in glaciers around the world, except for Greenland and the Antarctic ice cap, under a global average temperature increase of 1.5°C and 4°C, by using supercomputers to construct models using a large amount of new data for individual glaciers around the world.
According to the results, the number of glaciers is expected to decrease by about 50% (+1.5°C) to about 80% (+4°C) and the mass will decrease by 26±6% (+1.5°C) to 41±11% (+4°C) by 2100 relative to 2015.
This prediction also provides ideas for future specific studies and condition predictions for each glacier.
The researchers also used the results to call for a lower temperature target of a 2.7°C global average temperature rise, as promised in COP26.
