By: Hakan Bulgurlu – Chief Government Officer, Beko
Melting glaciers and ice sheets have been making headlines globally — typically for all of the fallacious causes. They’re more and more seen as belongings: quicker Arctic transport lanes, entry to untapped mineral assets, and far-reaching geopolitical ambitions. But, as we mark World Water Day, and inaugurate World Day for Glaciers, we should face a urgent reality: the retreat of those icy titans isn’t merely a scientific curiosity or a political bargaining chip — it’s a full-blown disaster reshaping our world.
I’ve seen this disaster first-hand. In 2023, I stood on Antarctica’s frozen expanse after summiting Mount Vinson and snowboarding to the South Pole to lift consciousness of the accelerating ice soften and its far-reaching penalties. That very same 12 months alone, glaciers misplaced over 600 gigatons of water – the biggest mass loss in half a century. Behind these statistics lies a dire menace to almost 2 billion individuals who depend on glacial meltwater for survival.
World Water Day 2025’s theme, “Glacier Preservation,” places a highlight on this urgency. The United Nations has declared 2025 the Worldwide Yr of Glacier Preservation, a recognition that these ice reserves aren’t solely essential to distant ecosystems, however they maintain human civilisation itself.
These calendar dates are greater than observances; they’re a name to motion. Every drop of meltwater is a warning. Because the Earth warms, our frozen realms shrink unprecedentedly, destabilising the water cycle and inflicting erratic patterns. Floods grow to be fiercer. Droughts stretch longer. Complete industries, from agriculture to vitality, are thrown off steadiness. Our glaciers are vanishing, and with them, the soundness of our water provide, meals programs, and lifestyle.
My journey to know this disaster started with a 2019 expedition to Mount Everest, additionally undertaken to spotlight local weather change. That 12 months, climate-driven circumstances resulted in one of the vital perilous climbing seasons in historical past. Cyclone Fani, fuelled by larger sea temperatures over the Bay of Bengal, struck base camp with alarming pressure. In the course of the expedition, I noticed the stark transformation of glaciers within the Hindu Kush-Himalaya area in comparison with their historic extent – a sobering testomony to our warming world. As I descended, I handed reminders of local weather change’s toll — locations the place climbers had succumbed to more and more unstable circumstances.
European glaciers have already misplaced about 40% of their quantity since 2000, a tempo unimaginable to the explorers who initially mapped these icy landscapes.
The chilling actuality is that water shortage isn’t a tomorrow downside; it’s already in movement. As glaciers soften and permafrost thaws, they generate new hazards whereas magnifying current ones. Glacial lake outburst floods, landslides, and avalanches endanger hundreds of thousands of lives, whereas rising sea ranges – already 20cm larger than in 1900 – deliver alongside troublesome questions: Which lands will we defend? Which of them will we abandon? How will we resettle communities to safer, larger grounds?
We nonetheless have an opportunity to alter course. Analysis suggests limiting warming to 1.5°C might save glaciers in two-thirds of World Heritage websites, however time to attain that is disintegrating. Scientific consensus is obvious: for the cryosphere, 1.5°C isn’t simply preferable; it’s important.
Now, it’s time for all of us to uphold our guarantees to future generations. As a result of as soon as the glaciers are gone, there’s no turning again.
The implications stretch properly past freshwater provide. As glaciers vanish, the meltwater flows into our oceans, accelerating sea stage rise at alarming charges. Current knowledge reveals that Earth’s ice loss averages 273 billion tons per 12 months (equal to what all the world inhabitants consumes in 30 years) — a staggering determine that instantly fuels rising seas. This surge is intensifying freshwater loss and accelerating coastal dangers.
My conservative estimate – an increase of 30 to 50cm by the 2050s – might not appear dramatic. However the ramifications for the worldwide financial system are profound. Sea stage rise is a world systemic danger that threatens to destabilise markets and the monetary system as an entire. The erosion of property values and the uninsurability of those belongings might set off a cascade of financial failures.
With nearly half of the populations within the EU and UK dwelling inside 50km of the shoreline, think about the dimensions of financial disruption on the horizon.
Whereas I’m not alone in recognising this disaster, there are various for whom it nonetheless appears distant, not part of their lives. The identical glaciers that retailer our planet’s freshwater are linked to the assets we depend on every single day. Have you ever put meals in your fridge as we speak? Used your dishwasher? Turned in your oven? All these actions connect with the vitality programs that gas local weather change. We will and will all do extra.
Particular person selections matter. Select energy-efficient home equipment, cut back waste, and be conscious of water use. These small steps, multiplied by hundreds of thousands, create important impression.
We’ve lengthy embedded sustainability in our core operations, frequently advancing the water and vitality effectivity of our home equipment in addition to reworking our manufacturing. However no single firm can clear up this alone. It’s a world problem that calls for coordinated motion.
Glacier safety should be added to nationwide adaptation insurance policies and NDCs. With COP30 forward, governments have a important alternative — and duty — to guide.
It’s not too late to show the tide. There may be energy in unity and focus. COP30 will likely be a pivotal second to ship on the Worldwide Yr of Glacier Preservation. Let’s not let it cross us by.
