Global Ice Loss Patterns and Impacts

• Ice loss is distributed across multiple components: Arctic sea ice (7.6 trillion tonnes since 1994), Antarctic ice shelves (6.5 trillion tonnes), mountain glaciers (6.1 trillion tonnes), Greenland ice sheet (3.8 trillion tonnes), and Antarctic ice sheet (2.5 trillion tonnes). Together, grounded ice melt has raised global sea levels by 35 mm.
• Mountain glaciers are losing ice most rapidly relative to their size, with some regions like Central Europe losing 40% of remaining ice since 2000. At current rates, most mountain glaciers outside polar regions will disappear this century, eliminating crucial water sources for billions of people.
• The Greenland ice sheet loses about 270 billion tonnes annually, while Antarctica loses 150 billion tonnes. Both rates are accelerating due to warming ocean waters undermining ice shelves and increased surface melting. Complete melting would raise sea levels by 65 meters, though this would take millennia.
• Arctic sea ice has declined by 13% per decade since 1979, with summer minimum extent reduced by nearly 50%. The Arctic Ocean may experience ice-free summers by the 2030s, fundamentally altering regional climate, ecosystems, and accelerating global warming through reduced albedo.