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3 clusters · 6 sources · 12 days · First seen · Last updated

Jamapa Glacier depletion and disappearance in Mexico

Overview

The Jamapa Glacier on Mexico’s Pico de Orizaba is entering a terminal stage of irreversible disappearance. Recent data indicates the glacier’s front has retreated approximately 200 meters in less than a decade. Between 2019 and 2024, its surface area shrank from 0.46 to 0.37 square kilometers, representing a reduction of nearly 20 percent in five years.

Experts from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) warn that due to thinning and fragmentation, the ice body may split into several smaller fragments within the next two years. This retreat is driven by climate change, volcanic activity, and severe deforestation within the Pico de Orizaba National Park.

The loss poses a critical threat to water security in the Veracruz region. As the glacier feeds the Jamapa River, its disappearance impacts river flow, irrigation, and hydroelectricity, potentially affecting the water supply for hundreds of thousands to over one million people.

In response to this environmental crisis, a group of mountaineers and journalists has launched an initiative titled ‘Cartas al glaciar Jamapa, el último de México’ (Letters to the Jamapa Glacier, the last in Mexico). Led by journalist Rodrigo Soberanes and the media outlet La Marea, the project involves carrying a mailbox up the mountain to collect letters, audio messages, and drawings from climbers and local community members. The collected messages are intended to reflect on the glacier and the surrounding ecosystems as the ice disappears.

Entities

Pico de Orizaba · Jamapa Glacier · UNAM · Veracruz · National Autonomous University of Mexico

Timeline

  1. [CULTURE] 3 sources
    Jamapa Glacier initiative collects farewell letters on Pico de Orizaba

    Mountaineers are carrying a mailbox to Mexico’s last glacier on Pico de Orizaba to collect farewell messages from communities as the Jamapa Glacier faces a 20% reduction in size since 2019.

  2. [HEALTH] 3 sources
    Jamapa Glacier faces irreversible disappearance in Mexico

    The Jamapa Glacier on Mexico's Pico de Orizaba is facing irreversible disappearance, threatening the water supply for over a million people in the Veracruz region due to climate change and deforestation.

  3. [INTERNATIONAL] 2 sources
    Pico de Orizaba glacier faces rapid melting and potential disappearance

    Mexico's Jamapa Glacier on Pico de Orizaba is shrinking rapidly, losing up to seven meters of thickness in a decade, and may disappear within ten years due to climate conditions.

Sources

elbuentono.com.mx · formato7.com · horacero.mx · lanigua.com.mx · mayacomunicacion.com.mx · xeu.mx

This summary has been updated 1 time: see revision history