Nepal’s Yala Glacier is shrinking so rapidly that, by the 2040s, it is predicted to disappear entirely. Launched in 2024 by organizations including the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), UNESCO, Rice University, and the University of Iceland, it is the only Himalayan glacier on the Global Glacier Casualty List. Since monitoring started, the glacier’s extent and volume have significantly decreased. Its height dropped from 5,170 m to 5,750 m in 2011 and has retreated by 680 m between 1974 and 2021.

Sharad Joshi of ICIMOD pointed out that the glacier’s size has decreased by 36% and that the substantial changes in both volume and extent mean that it no longer satisfies the scientific criteria necessary for efficient monitoring. Because it supplies the World Glacier Monitoring Service with dependable data on the Hindu Kush Himalayan cryosphere every year, the Yala glacier is extremely important to scientists worldwide.

The second straight year of global ice loss occurred in 2023 when glaciers throughout the world recorded the greatest mass loss in fifty years. Approximately 240 million people rely on the Hindu Kush Himalayan cryosphere, which is “warming twice as fast as the global average,” according to ICIMOD’s Neera Pradhan.

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Global Glaciers in Crisis

The Global Glacier Casualty List identifies 15 glaciers as critically endangered, including Nepal’s Yala Glacier. Nepal’s Yala Glacier is shrinking at an alarming rate, adding it to the list of glaciers at risk. Notable losses include France’s Sarenne Glacier, which vanished in 2023, and Venezuela’s Pico Humboldt, lost in 2024. China’s Dagu Glacier is also critically endangered and projected to disappear by 2030. Over the past few decades, Chinese glaciers have shrunk by 12,442.4 sq km—approximately 20.6% of their total area, an ice loss equivalent to the size of Jamaica.

Globally, more than 275,000 glaciers cover an area of 700,000 square kilometers. Together with ice sheets, these glaciers store about 70% of the planet’s freshwater.

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Efforts for Glacial Preservation

In an effort to draw attention to the significance of glaciers and their function in hydrology, meteorology, and climate systems, the United Nations has declared 2025 the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation. March 21 will be recognized as the World Day for Glaciers every year beginning in 2025. These programs seek to address the growing dangers to glaciers, which are essential for the stability of the climate and the supply of freshwater.

Since climate change is accelerating the receding of glaciers worldwide, the dramatic loss of glaciers like Yala emphasizes the urgent need for international attention and action.

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