Global warming causes Colombian glacier to disappear


By AFP
April 16, 2026


(COMBO) This combination of pictures created on April 16, 2026, shows satellite images obtained from Copernicus Sentinel Data 2026 showing the Cerros de la Plaza glacier (L) with some snow cover on December 28, 2015, and without snow cover in February 28, 2026 in the Sierra Nevada del Cocuy, northeastern Colombia. Where there used to be ice, now there are only rocks: one of the glaciers in a chain of snow-capped mountains in the Colombian Andes has vanished due to the high temperatures driven by climate change. Satellite images show how the ice sheet covering the mountain gradually shrank from 2015 until it disappeared in March 2026. - Copyright POOL/AFP Stefan Rousseau

Where once there was ice, only rock remains.

One of the glaciers in a chain of snow-capped mountains in the Colombian Andes has vanished due to high temperatures driven by climate change.

Satellite images show how the ice sheet covering the mountain gradually shrank from 2015 until it disappeared completely in March 2026.

Situated in the Sierra Nevada del Cocuy range, in the northeast of Colombia, the Cerros de la Plaza glacier was officially declared disappeared last week by the Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies (IDEAM).

Its surface area shrank from five square kilometers (1.93 square miles) in the 19th century to zero today, according to the agency.

“Climate change is a reality that is already transforming our territories. And what is at stake is not only the landscape, but the very balance of these ecosystems,” IDEAM said in a statement.

The Colombian Andes, like the country’s other ecosystems, are incredibly biodiverse, home to condors and mammals such as the spectacled bear.

The Sierra Nevada del Cocuy, with peaks over 5,000 meters above sea level, is one of the last six remaining glacial systems in the country, where the area covered by ice has shrunk by 90 percent since the 19th century, according to the environment ministry.

Glaciers feed the Andes’ freshwater sources, sustain mountain ecosystems and play a crucial role in crop irrigation, fishing, and other human activities.

The last 11 years have been the hottest 11 on record, according to the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service and Berkeley Earth, a California-based non-profit research organization.

A study published in Science magazine in January 2023 predicted that half the planet’s glaciers will have melted by 2100 even if the world meets its goal under the Paris Agreement of limiting warming to 1.5C.

‘Foreign Billionaires First, America Last’: Critics Slam GOP Over Mining Approval Near Minnesota Boundary Waters

“We don’t allow mining in Yellowstone, Yosemite, Zion, Acadia, Glacier, or any of our nation’s revered national parks—and we shouldn’t allow it in the watershed of the Boundary Waters, either,” said one congresswoman.


The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in the Superior National Forest in Minnesota is seen on September 6, 2019.
(Photo by Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)

Julia Conley
Apr 16, 2026
COMMON DREAMS

Democratic lawmakers and environmental protection groups condemned Senate Republicans on Thursday for their “heartbreaking” passage of a House resolution to overturn a 20-year moratorium on mining in the watershed of Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, the nation’s most visited wilderness area—a vote that critics said was the result of years of lobbying by a foreign-owned mining firm.

House Joint Resolution 140 now heads to President Donald Trump’s desk, nearly a decade after Chilean conglomerate Antofagasta, the owner of Twin Metals Minnesota, began discussing with Trump’s first administration its desire to build a copper mine over the pristine area.

“Because of this extremely short-sighted vote, our nation’s most-visited wilderness area faces the threat of permanent toxic pollution,” said Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minn.). “Why? So Antofagasta, a Chilean corporation that owns Twin Metals, can mine American copper and ship it to China to be smelted and sold on the global market. Twin Metals has been lobbying President Trump and Republicans in Congress for over ten years to remove the protections from this watershed and renew their mine plans to extract American minerals at the expense of freshwater for future generations.”

The 50-49 vote in the Senate, said Environment America, puts the 1.1 million-acre wilderness area for heavy metals leaching into the soil and water through acid mine drainage.

Toxic runoff from copper mining, said the group, “ultimately poisons the land and water surrounding a mine, making the ecosystem unlivable for wildlife.”

Leda Huta, vice president of government relations for American Rivers, called the vote “a betrayal of the public trust.”

“We share in the deep disappointment of millions of Americans who expect our elected leaders to protect our clean water, our abundant wildlife, and access for all to unmatched outdoor recreation spaces,” said Huta. “This is a heartbreaking moment.”

Amanda Hefner, manager of Save the Boundary Waters Action Fund, wrote in a column in Minnesota Reformer last October that “in a water-rich environment like the Boundary Waters, with its low buffering capacity, pollution would spread quickly through interconnected lakes and streams.” She also wrote that it was “reckless” to risk the preserve’s 17,000 jobs and over $1 billion in annual revenue “for a foreign-owned mine that would pollute and leave toxic waste for generations.”

According to Jacobin, Antofagasta spent $200,000 on lobbying in the final quarter of 2024 and $230,000 in the first quarter of 2025 “on issues including federal leases for Twin Metals.” The Chilean company is owned by billionaire Andrónico Luksic, who rented out his $5.5 million mansion in Washington, DC to Trump’s daughter Ivanka and her husband, then-White House adviser Jared Kushner, from 2017-21.



The Sierra Club noted that to pass the mining ban reversal, Senate Republicans “utilized a baseless interpretation of the Congressional Review Act (CRA).”

“The CRA only allows Congress to disapprove of administrative rules,” said the group. “No previous administration has considered mineral withdrawals to be ‘rules’ that are subject to the CRA.”

Athan Manuel, director of the Sierra Club’s Lands Protection Program, said that “allowing a foreign company to open a toxic mine on its doorstep puts a fragile ecosystem at risk and shows the Trump Administration will always act to benefit corporations over the American people.”

“The Boundary Waters is one of the country’s most iconic wilderness areas, visited by thousands every year. It should be a place for recreation and conservation, not for pollution and exploitation,” said Manuel.

Despite Trump’s refrain, “America First,” Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) said the vote made clear that “for the GOP, it’s foreign billionaires first, America last.”

McCollum warned that the mining moratorium was “the only way to protect this wilderness, which is home to some of the cleanest water in the entire world.

“We don’t allow mining in Yellowstone, Yosemite, Zion, Acadia, Glacier, or any of our nation’s revered national parks—and we shouldn’t allow it in the watershed of the Boundary Waters, either,” said the congresswoman. “One hundred percent of copper mines have failed, leading to polluted waters. This case will be no different.”

Severe Climate System Eruption

Robert Hunziker

 April 13, 2026

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Image by NASA.

The planet’s climate system has turned erratic. Scientific reports over the past 24 months signal trouble ahead as forecasts become impossible with a helter-skelter system. It’s almost like the planet is regurgitating the anthropogenic (human) input of the past couple hundred years within two years, the biggest planetary vomit of all time.

Studies over the past two years increasingly refer to major fundamental shifts that change everything civilization has been built upon, best expressed by John Marsham, professor of Atmospheric Science/University of Leeds: “Our entire infrastructure & civilization are based around a climate that no longer exists.”

For example, recent studies claim scientific models of sea levels have been, and still are, way off base, way too low. Seas are rising uncomfortably fast and coastal megacities are not prepared. A recent article in YaleEnvironment360 entitled A More Troubling Picture of Sea Level Rise Is Coming Into View d/d April 9, 2026 claims; “Scientists have uncovered a ‘blind spot’ in the research on rising seas, revealing that tens of millions of people thought safe from coastal flooding are at risk of inundation. Across much of the world, sea levels are higher than previously assumed and land is sinking faster.”

That ‘sinking feeling’ is global warming (GW) on a binge. This threat to “life as we know it” has already done what scientists thought highly improbable: The rate of global warming nearly doubled in only one decade. Evidence of this is found in the prestigious publication Nature d/d March 6, 2026: Climate Change is Speeding Up – the Pace Nearly Doubled in Ten Years.

The GW binge extends to the oceans covering 2/3rds of the planet. A July 2025 study published in ScienceDaily says severe ocean overheating may be causing a fundamental climate shift. Over a two-year period, ocean heatwaves with temperatures up to 3-5C above normal lasted for 500 days nonstop covering 96% of the world’s oceans. This is an unprecedented and jaw-dropping event. The rattled lead scientist of the study exclaimed: “I am scared.” (Source: Record-Breaking 2023 Marine Heatwaves. Science, July 24, 2025)

In 2025 alone, the ocean gained a staggering 23 Zetta Joules of heat. That amount of energy is roughly equal to about 37 years of total global primary energy use at 2023 levels (~620 Exa Joules per year). The findings are based on work by more than 50 scientists representing 31 research institutions across the globe, published January 14^th, 2026, ScienceDaily: The Ocean Absorbed a Stunning Amount of Heat in 2025. Sources: Institute of Atmospheric Physics and Chinese Academy of Sciences).

While every corner of the planet experiences a climate system going bonkers, it should come as no surprise that Antarctica Just Saw the Fastest Glacier Collapse Ever Recorded published in ScienceDaily d/d February 26, 2026. The Hektoria Glacier retreated five miles in only two months, and one-half collapsed in record time. It’s the fastest glacier collapse ever recorded. That’s global warming hard at work.

It was two years ago when a meeting of 450 polar scientists had this to say about Antarctica: “Recent research has shown record-low sea ice, extreme heatwaves exceeding 40°C (104°F) above average temperatures, and increased instability around key ice shelves. Shifting ecosystems on land and at sea underscore this sensitive region’s rapid and unprecedented transformations. Runaway ice loss causing rapid and catastrophic sea-level rise is possible within our lifetimes. Whether such irreversible tipping points have already passed is unknown.” ( Our Science, Your Future: Next Generation of Antarctic Scientists Call for Collaborative Action, Australian Antarctic Research Conference, November 22, 2024)

Meanwhile, at the top of the world, permafrost is abruptly releasing greenhouse gases. A new study, Unaccounted Emissions from Abrupt Permafrost Thaw and Wildfires Could Impact Global Carbon Budgets shows much faster events than accounted for in the IPCC’s carbon budget to supposedly keep global mean temperatures at or below 1.5°C pre-industrial (it’s already there). The study in Nature Communications Earth & Environment d/d Jan. 24, 2026, claims rapid Arctic warming “reduces the remaining allowable carbon budgets from 2025 onward by 25 % ± 12 %” to avoid exceeding 1.5°C. This is a huge reduction in allowable carbon budgets vis a vis current projection by the IPCC. The study reaches a conclusion not accounted for in global warming models: “The impact of including abrupt thaw, high-latitude fire, and post-fire thaw on total estimated permafrost emissions is possibly very substantial, more than doubling total cumulative emissions from permafrost-affected soils this century.” Once again, rapid climate change has impact beyond all historical precedent as the culprit of an erupting climate system.

A major international 20-year study published in Nature (February 2025) discovered a massive worldwide terrestrial glacial meltdown underway that directly impacts sea level rise, another threat not included in current analyses of potential sea level rise. The study discovered “staggering volumes of ice loss,” e.g., 273B tons ice loss per year over a 20-year study. Of concern, momentum is accelerating. For example, the first half of the study, or 10-years, registered 231B tons per year. The second half registered 314B tons/year or an increase of nearly 40% acceleration of terrestrial glacier loss, sans Greenland and Antarctica.

“This year may be remembered as one of the gravest for marine mammals on record. Or, more worryingly, a sign that our ocean environment is changing so drastically that in some places and seasons, it’s becoming uninhabitable for the life it holds.” (Marine Mammals are Dying in Record Numbers Along the California Coast, LA Times, October 3, 2025)

Only a handful of gloom and doom forecasters 10-15 years ago correctly predicted today’s climate system. Now they say it’ll get worse. No mainstream scientists or experts 10 years ago came close to anticipating this raucous climate system that fulfills a standard military adage ‘take no prisoners.’ Still, most commentators, feeling obligated to hang on to threads of hope, claim ‘technology will save us’ or ‘we still have time’ blah, blah, blah. Yet, the evidence over the past 24 months shows that every aspect of the climate system is already flying off the handle, and quickly. Forget ‘we’ve got time’. We’re in the midst of a climate system hailstorm. Buckle up.

Robert Hunziker lives in Los Angeles and can be reached at rlhunziker@gmail.com.

 

Why cruise passengers are missing out on seeing Alaska’s ‘queen of fjords’

Copyright Peter Mulligan, CC BY 2.0

By Michael Starling & AP

Published on 12/04/2026 - EURONEWS

Tracy Arm, a majestic fjord located southeast of Juneau, is being skipped by major cruise lines this season following a massive landslide last summer.

For years, sailing through Tracy Arm in southeast Alaska has been a highlight of many cruise itineraries, drawing visitors with its dramatic fjord landscapes and active glaciers that calve into icy waters.

The narrow passage, framed by rugged wilderness, has long been considered one of the region’s most scenic cruising experiences. However, this season several major cruise lines are choosing to bypass the route.

The decision follows a massive landslide last summer, when a large section of a glacier collapsed into the fjord, triggering a tsunami that sent waves surging high up the opposing mountainside. The event raised concerns about the stability of surrounding slopes, which remain potentially hazardous.

Citing passenger safety and ongoing geological risks, cruise operators have opted to alter itineraries, reflecting a more cautious approach as conditions in the area continue to be assessed.

“Tracy Arm is the majestic princess, you know, she is the queen of fjords,” said travel agent Nate Vallier.

The destination cruise and tour companies have chosen as an alternative – nearby Endicott Arm and Dawes Glacier – is “still beautiful by any means, but it’s just not the same”, he said.

Tracy Arm, southeast of Juneau, is a roughly 50-kilometre fjord that leads to the Sawyer Glacier and features wildlife, including seals and bears.

On 10 August 2025, a landslide originating high on a slope above the toe of the South Sawyer, near the head of the fjord, sent water surging more than a quarter mile (more than half a kilometre) up the mountain wall opposite the slide and out Tracy Arm.

No ships were in the fjord, officials said, and no deaths or injuries were reported. But kayakers camped on an island near where Tracy and Endicott arms meet had much of their gear swept away by the rushing water.

Southeast Alaska, largely encompassed by a temperate rainforest, is no stranger to landslides. And while it's long been known the fjord network in the Tracy Arm region has been susceptible, the slope that failed had not been identified as an active hazard before last summer's collapse, said Gabriel Wolken, manager of the state’s climate and ice hazards programme.

Scientists are working to understand not only what caused the slope to collapse but to understand what other hazards might exist in the fjord, he said.

The area remains unstable, said Steven Sobieszczyk, a US Geological Survey spokesperson. Steep landslide areas continue to change for years after an initial slide, he said by email.

“Continued rockfall and small-scale sliding from the exposed landslide scar are expected and could impact the water, potentially causing a future localised tsunami,” he said.

A cruise ships sails into Tracy Arm fjord in Alaska JOE KAFKA/AP

Major cruise companies, including Holland America, Carnival Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean said in response to inquiries from AP that they are replacing a Tracy Arm visit with Endicott Arm. MSC Cruises, Virgin Voyages and regional tour company Allen Marine also are doing Endicott and Dawes Glacier instead. Norwegian Cruise Line said it does not have voyages sailing by Tracy Arm.

Endicott already has been a stop for some ships previously and an alternative when conditions in Tracy Arm, such as excess ice, have been unsafe.

Vallier, who owns the Alaska Travel Desk, said he would have liked cruise companies to give travellers more advance notice about itinerary changes.

After leaving Seattle, the first ships of the season are due 21 April in Ketchikan and in Juneau the following week.

Seeing a glacier – particularly a dynamic, calving glacier – is a bucket-list item for many tourists, and that's what has made Tracy Arm so popular, he said. While the Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau is a major attraction for the capital city and cruise port, many visitors view it from across a large lake, and it has diminished or entirely retreated from view from some hiking overlooks.

Kimberly Lebeda of Wichita, Kansas, was excited when she booked tickets for a Tracy Arm excursion for her family last year. Lebeda, who researches areas she visits, said she was sold on the scenery.

But the night before the stop, they were told that due to ice in Tracy Arm, they would go up Endicott instead. Her family and others who'd booked the excursion got off the ship and onto a smaller boat with glass windows, abundant seating and snacks. They saw seals on ice floes, waterfalls and “a wall of ice” calve from Dawes Glacier, she said.

She called it “an amazing thing to witness”.

“Was it worth it? Yes, because I don’t know if I'll ever get to do that trip again,” she said. “Again, I haven’t ever been to Tracy Arm so I can’t really compare. But to me, was it worth it and was it exciting? Absolutely.”

UPDATE

Argentina eases glacier protection in $40bn mining push despite environmental fears

Argentina hosts nearly 17,000 glaciers covering about 8,484 square kilometres, and these formations play a critical role in regulating freshwater supplies. / CC / Vasiq Eqbal

By bnl editorial staff April 10, 2026

Argentina’s Congress has approved a reform to the country’s glacier protection law, relaxing restrictions on mining in high-altitude regions in a move aimed at attracting billions in investment, while drawing criticism from environmental groups concerned about water security.

Lawmakers on April 9 passed the bill with 137 votes in favour, 111 against and three abstentions, clearing the final legislative hurdle after Senate approval in February.

The measure, backed by President Javier Milei, modifies the 2010 Glacier Law to allow mining activity in certain periglacial zones previously off-limits.

The reform is expected to unlock significant capital flows into Argentina’s mining sector. Industry estimates suggest the new framework could attract more than $30bn in investment over the next decade, largely targeting copper, gold and silver projects, AP reported.

Local industry group CAEM, cited by Clarín, put the potential higher at about $40bn, with Economy Minister Luis Caputo projecting export revenues of up to $165bn by 2035.

Government officials and industry representatives argue the changes reduce regulatory uncertainty that had delayed large-scale projects. CAEM said the update “contributes to clarifying ambiguities that for years generated uncertainty,” while maintaining environmental protections. Mining Secretary Luis Lucero told local media that previous rules imposed “absolute prohibitions without room for exceptions or environmental impact studies,” discouraging investment.

Under the revised framework, only glaciers and landforms with a “specific hydrological function” will receive strict protection, with provincial governments tasked with defining and updating protected areas. 

Argentina is home to nearly 17,000 glaciers covering about 8,484 square kilometres, and these formations play a critical role in regulating freshwater supplies. Environmental groups, including Greenpeace, have vowed to challenge the law in court, warning it could threaten water access and fragile ecosystems.

“If they refuse to listen in Congress, they will be forced to listen in the courts,” a coalition of advocacy groups said in a joint statement, announcing plans for legal action.

Critics, including opposition lawmakers, have described the reform as unconstitutional and argued it weakens national safeguards.

Experts also raised concerns about long-term environmental risks. Enrique Viale, president of the Argentine Association of Environmental Lawyers, warned the changes could affect water resources relied upon by a large portion of the population, while analysts highlighted the technical challenges of mining in periglacial zones.

According to environmental groups cited by The Guardian, glaciers support 7mn Argentines, or 16% of the population. Beyond feeding rivers, they buffer fragile ecosystems already imperiled by climate change. In the north-west, scientists have measured a 17% shrinkage over the past 10 years.

Despite the backlash, government officials maintain the reform strikes a balance between environmental protection and economic development. Milei said the measure would help boost investment, job creation and growth, positioning Argentina to capitalise on rising global demand for critical minerals such as copper and lithium. The country hosts the world's third-largest lithium reserves (4mn tonnes, behind Chile and Australia) and the sixth-largest copper reserves (9.1mn tonnes), according to the US Geological Survey.

REVANCHIST REACTIONARIES

Argentina lawmakers approve glacier law reform to boost mining

09.04.2026, dpa

Photo: Fede J. Ciarallo/dpa

Argentina's lower house of Congress on Thursday approved a controversial reform of the country's glacier protection law, easing environmental safeguards to allow new economic projects, particularly in mining.

Lawmakers voted 137 to 111 in favour of the measure after hours of debate, the newspaper La Nación reported. The upper house had passed the bill in February.

Under the reform, only glaciers and surrounding high-altitude areas deemed essential to water supply will remain under strict protection. Provincial authorities will play a central role in determining which areas qualify.

The government of right-wing libertarian President Javier Milei described the overhaul as "historic," saying it would restore "genuine environmental federalism" and enable a more pragmatic approach to resource use.

Officials argue the previous law discouraged investment and led to legal uncertainty. The reform is intended to unlock billions of dollars in projects, particularly in lithium extraction and mining.

Opponents say the changes weaken environmental protections and favour the mining industry. Several opposition lawmakers have said they plan to challenge the reform in court, arguing it may be unconstitutional.

Argentina has enforced comprehensive glacier protections since 2010, banning most industrial activity in and around roughly 17,000 glaciers, as there are considered critical water reserves.

The country's glaciers have been shrinking for years, largely due to climate change. Milei denies that Earth's rising temperatures are driven by human activity.

(c) 2026 dpa Deutsche Presse Agentur GmbH

Why Treelines Don’t Simply Rise With The Climate

Treelines in the Swiss National Park, Graubünden. CREDIT: Sabine Rumpf, University of Basel

April 10, 2026 
By Eurasia Review

A global study by the University of Basel, Switzerland, reveals a surprising picture: while 42 percent of treelines worldwide are shifting upslope, 25 percent are retreating. This seemingly contradictory trend involves more than just warming. Climate change and human land use are interacting.

The climate crisis is pushing treelines upward, at least this is the common assumption. But a new global study paints a more complex picture: 42 percent of treelines shifted upslope between 2000 and 2020, a quarter shifted downhill during the same period.

The findings show that temperature alone does not explain these changes. Human interventions in the landscape, such as land-use changes, significantly influence how treelines develop. The results of the study were recently published in the International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation.

The researchers examined shifts in the actual treeline using satellite data and compared this with the potential treeline; that is, where trees could theoretically grow based on climate.

The study sheds light on processes that unfold over decades. “The shift of treelines occurs slowly, it would take a lifetime to fully grasp the changes,” says Dr. Mathieu Gravey of the Institute for Interdisciplinary Mountain Research at the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW).

Temperature isn’t everything

Treelines are considered a particularly vivid symbol of climate change. But this impression falls short, emphasizes Prof. Dr. Sabine Rumpf from the Department of Environmental Sciences at the University of Basel. “When you talk to people about climate change, there are usually two images that come to mind: glacier retreat and the shifting of treelines. Treelines are often attributed solely to climate change. But it’s not that simple. While climate change is clearly the cause of glacier retreat, the reasons behind treeline positions are complex,” says Rumpf.

While temperature fundamentally determines where trees can potentially grow, the actual position of treelines, and how it changes, depends heavily on human use.

In the European Alps, for example, pastures at high elevations are increasingly abandoned. Where grazing declines, trees can move in again and the actual treeline shifts upward. “It’s not about whether the alpine region is being used, but how that land use is changing,” explains Rumpf. “The more alpine pastures are abandoned, the more trees grow back in places where they could have been all along.”

The study shows that, globally, the more a region has been used in the past, the greater the influence of land use changes on current treeline dynamics. Temperature and land use often have an equally strong impact.

Other disturbances such as fires also play a role. On a global scale, 38 percent of downward shifts of treelines can be linked to fire events. “Fires are an example of natural disturbances,” says the study’s first author, Dr. Tianchen Liang from the University of Basel. “But many wildfires, such as those in North America, can no longer be completely separated from human influences. Climate change and other human activities are increasing their frequency and scale.” This highlights the complexity of these interactions: “It is difficult to distinguish between human and natural influences and triggers.”
A piece of the puzzle in understanding climate change

According to the researchers, the treeline is an important but often misunderstood signal of global change. “The shifting of treelines is one piece of a large puzzle for understanding the impact of climate change,” says Mathieu Gravey.

“But their significance extends beyond science,” says Sabine Rumpf. “Treelines are a striking example of how we, as humans, are changing our environment, directly through land use and indirectly through the consequences of human-induced climate change.”

Many global environmental changes are abstract and difficult to grasp. “Often, the consequences of our actions are very far removed from what we do in our daily lives. We make decisions in our private lives or at the polls—but the consequences aren’t immediately visible,” says Rumpf. “It’s extremely difficult to see the effects of our own decisions.” Treelines are an exception. “They are one of the few changes that are intuitively understandable. In photos from the past and present, you can immediately see how the landscape has changed.”

This is why it is important to interpret treelines correctly. They respond not only to rising temperatures but to a complex interplay of climate change, land use, and natural disturbances such as fire. The study shows that anyone who wants to understand the consequences of global change must take into account both direct human interventions, such as changes in land use, and climatic changes, which are also caused by human activities. Treelines are thus not merely a thermometer of warming, but a visible expression of multifaceted global changes.

Argentine MPs to debate watered-down glaciers protection

AFP
Wed, April 8, 2026


A Greenpeace activist unfurls a banner reading 'Hands off the Glaciers Law' outside Argentina's parliament ahead of a vote by MPs on an amendment watering down glacier protections (Tomás Cuesta)(Tomás Cuesta/AFP/AFP)More

Argentine MPs on Wednesday were set to begin debating a bill promoted by President Javier Milei which authorizes mining in ecologically sensitive areas of glaciers and permafrost.

The amendment to the so-called Glacier Law, which was approved by the Senate in February, would make it easier to mine for metals such as copper, lithium and silver in permanently frozen parts of the Andes mountains.

Argentina is a major producer of lithium, which is critical to the global tech and green energy sectors.

If adopted by the Chmber of Deputies in a vote expected late Wednesday, it will become law once signed by Milei.

The amendment has outraged environmentalists, who say it will weaken protections for crucial water sources.

Greenpeace activists scaled a monument in front of Congress at dawn on Wednesday and unfurled a banner urging lawmakers "not to betray the Argentine people."

Seven people were arrested, AFP reported.

Diego Salas, communications director for Greenpeace Argentina, told AFP that the amendment was not only a "betrayal of Argentines" but "a betrayal of humanity because glaciers protect us, they give us life."

There are more than 16,000 glaciers in Argentina.

In the northwest of the country, where mining activity is concentrated, glacial reserves have shrunk by 17 percent in the last decade, mainly due to climate change, according to the Argentine Institute of Snow Science, Glaciology and Environmental Sciences.

- Support from governors -

Milei argues the bill is necessary to attract large-scale mining projects.

According to a Central Bank projection, Argentina could triple its mining exports by 2030.

"Environmentalists would rather see us starve than have anything touched," Milei said when announcing the amendment.

Supporters of the amendment argue that it will clear up ambiguities in the current law.

"We want legal certainty, we want clear definitions," Michael Meding, director of the Los Azules copper mining project in San Juan, told AFP.

The reform has the backing of governors from the Andean provinces, who would have greater latitude to green-light mining projects.

Enrique Viale, president of the Argentine Association of Environmental Lawyers, told AFP that the reform threatened the water supply of "70 percent of Argentinians."

Under the current law, he said, "a scientific body determines the location of glaciers and periglacial environments."

Under the amendment, their location would be "a discretionary decision for each province."

Researchers predict melting glaciers may threaten future water security

Warming temperatures driving prolonged ice loss, study finds

Ohio State University

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COLUMBUS, Ohio – Glaciers in High Mountain Asia — a region encompassing the Tibetan Plateau and its surrounding mountain ranges — are shrinking rapidly, endangering water resources for millions of people, suggests a new study.

Using satellite data from NASA’s GRACE missions, results show that these extensive glacier systems, often called the “water towers of Asia,” experienced significant losses in mass between 2002 and 2023. These findings reveal that if the extreme conditions that led to this decline continue, enhanced glacier melt could intensify short-term flood risks and substantially reduce long-term meltwater availability. The researchers say the findings underscore the need for reduced greenhouse gas emissions to stave off glacier melt and preserve a larger fraction of the region’s cryospheric water storage. 

Because communities in the area often rely on the glacier’s large meltwater stores for hydropower generation, renewable energy and large-scale irrigation systems, any changes in glacier size will have direct implications for local water security, agriculture and natural hazard management, said Jaydeo Dharpure, lead author of the study and a former postdoctoral research associate at the Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center at The Ohio State University. 

“Decreasing glacial mass change can threaten infrastructure and increase the risk of loss of life,” he said. “While some ice losses and major disturbances are inevitable, glaciers play an important role for people living beside them, so learning to better monitor their evolutions is a must.”

The study was recently published in the journal Scientific Reports.

There are currently more than 95,000 glaciers located in High Mountain Asia, most of which are spread across about 15 sub-regions, or smaller ecological areas. 

To better grasp the extent of mass loss from these critical glaciers, researchers examined changes in Earth’s gravity field to determine how much frozen water was lost or added to the glaciers each year. Machine learning models were also used to address mission gaps in long-term glacier monitoring. In all, the team found that while water and ice loss steadily went up throughout the years, there was pronounced melt variability across certain subregions. 

Eastern Kunlun, for example, a mountain system that lies between the Tibetan Plateau and the Tarim Basin in western China, gained ice over the last few decades, but West Tien Shan, a mountain range that stretches in the opposite direction, did experience rapid mass losses. 

According to the study, the differences in outcomes for these subregions could have been caused by rising global temperatures, altered precipitation patterns, or even radiation emitted by the sun. But while challenging to study, because the glacier system in High Mountain Asia significantly influences global climate regulation, using new techniques to understand how the region reacts to these drivers as a whole is potentially one of the best ways future scientists can create more accurate global climate models, said Dharpure. 

“This is important work, because if these glaciers vanish in the future, downstream communities won’t just experience drinking or agricultural water shortages,” he said. Instead, melting glaciers would form new, uncharted lakes and rivers that continue to accumulate water, putting nearby communities in jeopardy, he said. “So scientists should be prepared to monitor how dangerous the many issues that disappearing glaciers cause will be for the billions of people they touch,” said Dharpure. 

Co-authors include Ohio State’s Ian Howat and Akansha Patel from Texas A&M University AgriLife. This work was supported by Ohio State’s Byrd Postdoctoral Fellowship. 

#

Contact: Ian Howat, Howat.4@osu.edu

Written by: Tatyana Woodall, Woodall.52@osu.edu 

---

Journal

Scientific Reports

DOI

10.1038/s41598-026-39404-8 

Method of Research

Observational study

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Future projections of glacier mass change in High Mountain Asia using GRACE and climatemodel data