The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) warns that glaciers in a third of the world's heritage sites will melt by 2050.
The United Nations agency attributes a study of 18,600 glaciers found at 50 World Heritage sites. According to Yahoo, at least a third of the sites are predicted to disappear as the glaciers have been retreating at an accelerated rate due to climate change.
BBC News reports that UNESCO has pinpointed 17 world heritage sites where glaciers are likely to melt by the year 2050. The study also warns that these glaciers are expected to melt around 33% to 60% of their volume by the year 2100.
Among the 17 world heritage sites that made a list include the Hyrcanian Forests, Durmitor National Park, Virunga National Park, Huanlong Scenic and Historic Interest Area, Yellowstone National Park, Mount Kenya National Park/Natural Forest, Pyrenees Mont Perdu, Rwenzori Mountains National Park, Putorana Plateau, Swiss Tectonic Arena Sardona, Nahanni National Park, Lorentz National Park, Natural System Of Wrangel Island Reserve, Kilimanjaro National Park, Yosemite National Park, The Dolomites, and the Virgin Komi Forests.
Notably, heritage sites like Kilimanjaro National Park in Tanzania and Yosemite National Park in the United States may see the last of their country's glaciers melt by 2050 due to the inevitably warming temperatures.
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UNESCO Says Cutting Down on Emissions May be the Last Hope for Glaciers
Glaciologist Beata Csatho from the University of Buffalo notes that glaciers were still stable in the middle of the 1990s. However, the warming temperatures are causing them to melt at an accelerated pace over the years. UN News warns that this consequence of climate change is due to the effect of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide.
UNESCO project officer Tales Carvalho Resende, who is also one of the authors of the climate change study, urges leaders and big corporations to have a sense of urgency as the loss of these world heritage sites can still be prevented.
"There's a message of hope here," said Resende. "If we can manage to drastically cut emissions, we will be able to save most of these glaciers."
Meta reports that tech companies are the biggest contributors to carbon emissions due to the mass manufacturing gadgets such as smartphones, desktops, laptops, and more.
UNESCO on Effects of Melting Glaciers Amidst Climate Change
Following the potential loss of the heritage sites, UNESCO also found that the melting of glaciers during the last two decades caused the Earth's sea level to rise to 4.5% between 2000 and 2020.
Additionally, numerous communities depend on glaciers as a crucial water source for people and crops. According to The Conversation, almost two billion people rely on glacier water. Thus, the loss of these heritage sites can lead to a scarcity of water supply in numerous parts of the world.
