decade glacier
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Decade of Action for Cryospheric Sciences (2025-2034)

Leveraging science to protect our planet's icy areas

Our cryosphere – glaciers, ice caps, snow and permafrost – is melting at an unprecedented pace. Urgent action is needed to safeguard these vital frozen areas on which billions rely on for freshwater and climate stability.

Endorsed by the UN, the Decade of Action for Cryospheric Sciences (2025–2034) is a global effort to boost research and drive urgent action to protect Earth’s frozen areas. This initiative calls on scientists, governments, and communities worldwide to unite and protect the cryosphere and safeguard the billions of people who depend on them for their survival.

When the cryosphere changes, everything does.
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When the cryosphere changes, everything does.
©UNESCO
A global wake-up call

The rapid melting of glaciers puts billions at risk, particularly those who depend on glaciers for drinking water and agriculture. The UN General Assembly has declared 2025–2034 as the Decade of Action for Cryospheric Sciences to advance climate science, strengthen international collaboration, and raise global awareness about the vital role of Earth’s frozen regions. By working together, we can slow the loss of glaciers and permafrost, reduce the risks of sea-level rise and water scarcity, and support communities in adapting to a changing climate.

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10 years. 5 challenges.

The Decade aims to overcome the following 5 overarching challenges to deepen our understanding of cryospheric changes and to develop solutions:
  • 1. Global cryosphere monitoring

    Create an integrated and inclusive system for observing, documenting, and understanding the state of the cryosphere, building on and collaborating with existing services and initiatives

  • 2. Actionable cryosphere projections

    Make cryosphere modelling capabilities more comprehensive, coordinated, inclusive and policy-relevant, enabling the robust assessment of the consequences of cryosphere loss

  • 3. Cryospheric risk management solutions

    Identify, assess, and manage risks from cryosphere loss, with a focus on the impacts to ecosystems, infrastructure, water resources, and vulnerable populations

  • 4. Adaptation to cryosphere loss

    Enable societies to anticipate, respond to, and build resilience against, cryosphere loss through transformative, inclusive, and evidence-based adaptation strategies

  • 5. Amplify the impact of cryospheric science

    To amplify the influence of cryospheric science on decision-making by translating scientific evidence on the urgency, irreversibility, and risk of cryosphere loss into timely and effective action

Humanity is on thin ice – and that ice is melting fast.

António GuterresSecretary-General of the United NationsSource

Key figures

2 billion
people rely on glaciers for water and energy
2/3 irrigation
worldwide uses meltwater from snow and mountain glaciers
3 Olympic pools
of ice melt every second
$56 billion
in mountain geohazard losses since 1985
410 million
people face high sea level risk by 2100
12,000 deaths
from glacial lake floods since 1800s
600 Gt lost
from glaciers in 2023 alone, a record drop
Arctic warms 3
times faster than the global average rate
cryosphere
Watch
The Melting Point: Heïdi Sevestre Explains the Threat & What We Can Do
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The Melting Point: Heïdi Sevestre Explains the Threat & What We Can Do
Launch of United Nations World Water Development Report 2025
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Launch of United Nations World Water Development Report 2025
Conservare project
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Conservare project
UNDER ANTARTICA EXPEDITION: the first kite-ski expedition supporting polar science
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UNDER ANTARTICA EXPEDITION: the first kite-ski expedition supporting polar science

UNESCO, the United Nations organization for science, is leading this Decade through its Intergovernmental Hydrological Programme