‘Ambition on Melting Ice on Sea-level Rise and Mountain Water Resources’ Group

Eighteen countries have come together to form the ‘Ambition on Melting Ice on Sea-level Rise and Mountain Water Resources’ group.

What is ‘Ambition on Melting Ice on Sea-level Rise and Mountain Water Resources’ group?

  • Eighteen countries, led by two polar and mountain nations of Chile and Iceland, came together to form a new high-level group ‘Ambition on Melting Ice on Sea-level Rise and Mountain Water Resources’
  • Its purpose is to increase the understanding of the impact of cryosphere loss on the mountainous regions, polar regions and the overall planet.
  • The cryosphere are regions on Earth with frozen water. The climate change-led melting of the cryosphere is causing a major impact on the world.
  • The newly formed group emphasizes on the role of cryosphere loss in global sea level rise – one of the most visible impacts of climate change.
  • The group focuses on the impact of the melting cryosphere on communities living in coastal regions, island countries, and low-lying regions.
  • It seeks to promote awareness about these issues among policymakers and the general public.

Why does the cryosphere need protection?

Global cryosphere (Earth’s snow and ice regions) are witnessing dramatic changes. Its melting is causing water shortages, sea-level rise, marine warming, and landslides caused by permafrost thaw. Livelihoods and lives are lost or being threatened because of the loss of cryosphere. The earliest to be impacted by this crisis are indigenous people in both the Arctic and mountainous regions.

The IPCC Sixth Assessment Cycle reports, including the Special Report on Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate, expect the cryosphere melting to worsen with each additional increment of global warming and greenhouse gas emissions. It will impact the world beyond the polar and mountain regions. Polar oceans are expected to witness rapid acidification and reach a critical threshold at 450ppm – a level that the world will reach in 12 years.


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