‘Smashed and shattered’: NZ glaciers shrinking due to global warming

New Zealand’s glaciers are suffering from “enduring ice loss” as a result of global warming, according to a government environment body on Monday.

The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) said that survey flights, which the scientific agency has carried out since the 1970s to analyze snowline elevation and the state of the glaciers, show they appear “smashed and shattered due to enduring ice loss.”

“Overall, the snowline has been rising and in the most recent years we’re seeing that rise accelerate, so we’re experiencing a continued trend of glacial ice loss,” said Dr Andrew Lorrey, program lead and NIWA’s Principal Scientist – Climate and Environmental Applications.

NIWA scientists even noted that in the latest survey, a glacier that had not been flown over since 2018 is now two-thirds of the size it was then.

The scientists linked the receding glaciers to rising temperatures in New Zealand, which in the past 10 years has seen seven of the warmest years that the country has experienced since records began.

Last year was the second warmest year on record, a trend that followed the rest of the world, with 86 percent of the planet having temperatures above average in 2023.

“Even if we got a few cooler seasons, they wouldn’t be enough to undo the damage that’s already been done,” said Lorrey, insisting on the need to “tackle the issue of rising greenhouse gases if we are to save our glaciers from melting away.”

Glaciers are important sources of meltwater, supporting stream habitats and providing nutrients to lakes, rivers and oceans, as well as feeding hydroelectric lakes, impacting the availability of renewable energy.

New Zealand’s glaciers annually contribute about NZ$100 million ($60 million) to the country’s economy through tourism.