Glaciers play a crucial role in regulating the global climate and providing freshwater, a prerequisite for life on earth that helps humanity thrive. However, due to climate change and global warming, these vital resources are rapidly disappearing. The United Nations has designated 2025 as the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation to highlight the importance of glaciers and ensure that those relying on them—and those affected by cryospheric processes—receive the necessary hydrological, meteorological, and climate services. The United Nations has also proclaimed 21st March of each year as the World Day for Glaciers starting in 2025. Glaciers are the world’s water repositories, serving as the sources of freshwater that flow into our rivers downstream. As glaciers retreat in a warming world leading to increased water flow in our rivers freshwater resources will be depleted resulting in widespread water shortages which will eventually impact lives and livelihoods.

The cover story on retreating glaciers published in the April 2025 issue of TerraGreen highlights the critical issue of glacial retreat and glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) exacerbated by climate change. Although glaciers are vital freshwater sources, their rapid retreat threatens ecosystems and human settlements, particularly in mountain regions. The article highlights the rising risks of GLOFs, as evidenced by disasters in the Himalayas and other areas. It emphasizes the need for global adaptation and mitigation strategies, focusing on decarbonization, improved early warning systems, and investments in nature-based solutions to reduce the human toll of climate change and implications thereafter, some of which would cause irreversible loss and damage.

There is, however, a silver lining. Technical innovations have been implemented in some European nations to slow the melting and retreat of glaciers. Austria, France, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland have begun protecting glaciers by covering them with geotextiles to increase surface albedo, or the reflection of light. This reduces the absorption of solar radiation, thereby slowing glacier melting. Other measures include ground-based cloud seeding operations in glacier basins to enhance a cloud’s ability to produce rain or snow, using green electricity to power artificial snowmaking from glacier meltwater, and employing meltwater pumps to clean glacier surfaces by flushing away light-absorbing particles, which helps improve glacial mass and halt the retreat of glaciers.

I believe you will find each article published in this issue stimulating, with a storyline that ignites a sense of hope and reinforces the belief in transitioning to a greener and cleaner ecosystem.