Global Glacier Extinction Explorer map tracks projected ice loss

Researchers from ETH Zurich and Vrije Universiteit Brussel have developed the Global Glacier Extinction Explorer, an interactive map that allows users to identify nearly every glacier in the world and estimate its potential disappearance date. The tool demonstrates how these timelines shift based on different global warming scenarios.

Published in the journal Nature Climate Change, the study highlights the concept of the ‘peak of glacier extinction,’ the point at which the annual number of disappearing glaciers reaches its highest level. At 1.5 degrees Celsius of global warming, it is estimated that approximately 2,000 glaciers could vanish annually during this peak. This number could nearly double if warming reaches 4 degrees Celsius.

Recent extreme weather has already accelerated these losses. In the European Alps, the Bella Tola glacier near Saint-Luc, Switzerland, was officially declared extinct in August, following the disappearance of the Urirotstock glacier. Scientists note that glacier loss is typically the culmination of decades of cumulative mass loss due to limited snowfall and intense summer melting, which can be accelerated by extreme years.