Scientists Sound The Alarm On New Zealand Glaciers Shrinking.

New Zealand Glaciers Shrinking At ‘Confronting’ Pace
Aerial survey shows 'worrisome trend' as New Zealand glaciers shrink.
Climate change is destroying the glaciers of New Zealand.
Every year, scientists in New Zealand fly over some of the country’s most iconic glaciers and almost every year, they find them shrinking. This year was no different. The team of scientists spent eight hours flying over the peaks, taking thousands of photographs of glaciers for the annual snowline survey. Some of the smaller elevation glaciers had largely disappeared while the famous Franz Josef and Fox glaciers showed marked signs of retreat. Glaciers are fresh water sources for nearly 2 billion people globally, but their rapid melting poses a huge risk: not only is it increasing the risk for deadly flash flooding, the melting ice is driving sea level rise. Two years of severe, record-breaking heat have taken a toll on the glaciers – 2022 was New Zealand’s hottest year ever. But the trend of declining ice is long term.

An end-of-summer snowline survey of over 50 glaciers in the Southern Alps shows continued loss of snow and ice. The annual survey, which started in 1977, has been used to track ice and snow change in New Zealand’s glaciers and it shows the impact climate change can have on the national treasures. Dr Andrew Lorrey, Niwa’s principal scientist, said the eight-hour aerial portrait of the glaciers suggested a risk of losing them. Lorrey said the trend of ice loss from previous years worried him. The aerial survey showed snowlines – the thin boundaries between glacial ice and snow – in the Southern Alps were moving upward into the mountains.