Why Glaciers Are Disappearing & What Protect Our Winters (POW) is Doing About It

It’s official: 2024 was the hottest year on record. Again. By now, these headlines have become so routine that they almost fail to shock - but they should. The world’s glaciers, which act as frozen reservoirs holding 75% of our freshwater, are vanishing at an alarming rate. In just two summers, the Alps alone lost 10% of their remaining ice and scientists now warn that by the end of the century, glaciers could shrink by 52% if we don’t take drastic action.

But here’s the thing. This issue goes beyond melting ice, it’s about water resources and the communities that depend on them. Glaciers don’t just sculpt mountain landscapes and provide a playground for winter sports enthusiasts; they are the lifeblood of billions of people, feeding rivers, sustaining ecosystems and regulating the planet’s delicate climate balance.

And yet, while governments talk about net-zero goals for 2050, glaciers don’t have the luxury of waiting. Neither do we. That’s why Protect Our Winters (POW), the global non-profit that has been rallying the outdoor community to fight climate change since 2007, is getting behind the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation (IYGP 2025), a UNESCO-backed initiative to sound the alarm and, crucially, push for action.

The world’s glaciers provide drinking water, irrigation and hydroelectric power for nearly 2 billion people (almost a quarter of the global population). From the Himalayas to the Andes, a flurry of major rivers like the Ganges, Indus and Yangtze all rely on glacial meltwater to flow steadily through the year. Without it, entire regions face severe water shortages.

It’s about timing as much as it is about supply. “You can think of snow as a water reservoir,” says Dr. Giulia Mazzotti, a snow scientist studying the effects of climate change on mountain hydrology. “With increasing temperatures, this reservoir is melting earlier. So we may have more water earlier in spring, but this water will be missing later in the summer.”

This shift is already causing catastrophic droughts. In 2022, Pakistan saw unprecedented flooding, partly driven by rapid glacial melt, affecting 33 million people. Just a year later, Peru’s Cordillera Blanca - once a thriving source of freshwater - saw its glaciers shrink by over 40%, sparking water shortages for nearby communities.

But here’s where the argument gets even sharper: the economic cost of glacier loss is staggering. A study in Nature estimated that the global economic impact of glacial melt could exceed $70 trillion by the end of the century. That’s more than the entire annual GDP of the United States.

So, we know what you’re thinking - glaciers melting is bad, but beyond the overall impact climate change is having on the environment, how does glacial melt specifically impact winter sports?

Well, glaciers provide natural snow coverage at high altitudes, allowing for longer seasons on glacier-fed slopes. Acting as a slow-drip reservoir, glaciers release meltwater during the warmer months but as they shrink, the volume of available water starts to dwindle, along with the opportunities for providing alternative snow and therefore skiable slopes. Furthermore, glacial retreat consistently destabilises landscapes, paving the way for increased risks such as: rockfalls, landslides and crevasse formations - all of this makes terrain increasingly dangerous for skiers and all the more difficult to manage for the resorts, whilst increasing the cost required to mitigate these risks.

Enter The International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation. Over the course of five weeks, POW will help take this message to the world’s most influential platforms, putting climate science and policy action front and centre.

At the heart of the campaign is DOWNSTREAM, a gripping documentary that lays bare the human and environmental toll of glacial loss. POW is bringing the film to key power centres, ensuring that those with the authority to make a difference cannot look away:

• March 20: Screening at UNESCO HQ in Paris, as part of World Water Day.

• March 21: A landmark showcase at the United Nations in New York, coinciding with the first-ever World Day for Glaciers.

• April 8: A critical screening at the European Parliament in Brussels, bringing the issue directly to lawmakers.

• April 26: The campaign’s first-phase finale at ChangeNOW in Paris, where athletes, scientists and climate leaders will push the conversation forward.

But POW knows that films and forums alone won’t cut it, this initiative is also a rallying cry for individuals, businesses and policymakers to take real steps toward glacier preservation.

How You Can Join the Fight

The hard truth: there is no "fixing" a melted glacier. Once it's gone, it's gone. The only way to save what remains is to slow climate change itself. That means stronger policies, faster action and collective pressure on decision-makers.

POW is urging people to:

1. Educate themselves – Watch DOWNSTREAM and understand the stakes.

2. Use their voice – Spread the word, tag @protectourwinterseurope, and push the conversation forward using #glacierpreservation #glaciers2025 #IYGP2025.

3. Demand policy change – Hold leaders accountable and push for real action to protect freshwater resources. Check out POW’s Advocacy Page

Here’s the final, undeniable fact: glaciers don’t care about politics, excuses, or half-measures. They only respond to temperature.

Jonas Schneider, Executive Director at POW Europe, doesn’t mince words: “The International Year of Glacier Preservation must become a wake-up call for everyone. We can’t afford to wait.”

And he’s right. The numbers are clear, the consequences are already unfolding and the cost of inaction is simply too high. If we want to preserve the glaciers that sustain life on this planet, we need to act.

For more on the IYGP campaign, visit: protectourwinters.eu/international-year-of-glacier-preservation.

At SustainaSki, we understand that the future of our industry is strongly linked to the health of our planet’s glaciers. Reliable snowfall, stable mountain ecosystems and sustainable water sources are essential not only for outdoor recreation but also for the economies that depend on winter tourism and the global population.

Supporting initiatives like POW’s International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation is about protecting the very foundation of winter sports and ensuring a future where these activities can thrive for generations to come - which is exactly what we are trying to achieve at SustainaSki.