Glaciers in Rapid Decline

Glaciers are outdoor libraries, natural archives of the planet's past and indicators of current climate change. Therefore, the sky is in the ice. Atmospheric composition, air bubbles, volcanic eruptions... Everything has been recorded – as testimonies of past events – and it is also happening today.

We can thus say that glaciers are reactive and active beings. They are not simple objects, but rather factors; fundamental elements of the earth's cycles, basic components of the climate system, and the planet's largest fresh water reserve. They are also part of the cultural and social life of high mountains and the poles, of wild and remote places; unfortunately, they are now a 'threatened species'. The loss of glaciers has terrible consequences for the planet's ecosystem, the water balance and for society.

During this session, we will analyse the importance of mountain glaciers, with particular emphasis on their role as sensitive indicators of climate change. Furthermore, the United Nations has declared 2025 to be the International Year of Glaciers' Preservation; therefore, the speaker intends to take the audience on a journey across countries: from the large frozen regions of Patagonia and Alaska, to the last small glaciers of the Pyrenees. The parallels drawn will be a clear invitation for us to reflect on: where do we come from? (glaciers are testimonies of the planet's natural memory) and to where are we going? (we will soon have a future and mountain range without ice).