Global warming has led to the disappearance of thousands of glaciers worldwide. Glacier melting impacts human communities in terms of cultural meaning, natural beauty, water availability, economic opportunity, and world heritage.
The Global Glacier Casualty List aims to remember the names and tell the stories of selected glaciers that are critically endangered or have already disappeared worldwide. The continued strong melting and increasing imbalance of glaciers are observed across the globe (WGMS, 2023). At the same time, the project reminds us that all our glaciers are endangered and every further increase in temperature matters (Rounce et al., 2023). The disappearance or preservation of glaciers strongly depends on our success in limiting further human-caused global warming.
The Global Glacier Casualty List project was founded in 2024 through a collaboration between Rice University, the University of Iceland, the Iceland Glaciological Society, the World Glacier Monitoring Service, and UNESCO. The project contributes to the UN’s 2025 International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation.