WMO Amplifies Efforts to Monitor and Mitigate Cryosphere Changes Amid Climate Impact

Scientific evidence indicates accelerating ice melt, with all Greenland ice shelves disappearing in the past 30 years and similar trends expected for Antarctica.

In response to growing international concern over the effects of climate change on ice, snow, and permafrost, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has announced plans to bolster monitoring, advocacy, and collaboration on the cryosphere. This initiative comes as the WMO Executive Council adopts high-level ambitions to address the significant and largely irreversible changes occurring in the cryosphere.

“The cryosphere is important to everyone. It is everyone’s business,” stated Roar Skålin and Stephen Hunt, co-chairs of the EC Panel on Polar and High Mountains Observations, Research, and Services (PHORS), underscoring the urgent need for action.

The State of the Cryosphere

The cryosphere, encompassing the Earth's frozen components, is experiencing rapid changes, including thawing permafrost, reduced snow cover, melting glaciers, declining sea ice, and the melting of polar ice sheets and ice shelves. These changes pose global risks, such as sea-level rise, altered hydrological and ecological regimes, and reinforced global warming.

Current levels of warming have already committed the world to a minimum sea-level rise of two meters. The speed of reducing greenhouse gas emissions will determine the timeline for these impacts, potentially spanning centuries if mitigated effectively.

Monitoring Challenges and Scientific Evidence

A critical gap in weather observations, particularly in Polar and high mountain regions, limits the ability to monitor these changes effectively. For instance, Antarctica, a continent larger than the USA, has only 127 automatic weather stations. Ocean observations are also sparse, a significant oversight considering the ocean’s role in melting Antarctic ice from below.

Scientific evidence indicates accelerating ice melt, with all Greenland ice shelves disappearing in the past 30 years and similar trends expected for Antarctica. This acceleration has heightened the rate of sea-level rise, with Antarctica contributing to the largest uncertainty in predictions.

Global Impacts and Vulnerabilities

The impacts of cryospheric changes are global. For example, small island and coastal communities in low latitudes, such as Guyana, face acute vulnerabilities. Garvin Cummings, head of Guyana’s national meteorological service, highlighted the plight of Guyana, where 90% of the population lives in a coastal belt representing only 10% of the island's land area. Rising sea levels have necessitated strengthened coastal barriers and forced entire communities to relocate, turning them into climate migrants.

High-Level Ambitions

The WMO Executive Council adopted high-level ambitions to guide scaled-up activities on the cryosphere, following the example of its long-term ambitions for water:

Resilience to Cryospheric Changes: Ensuring that everyone on the planet is prepared for and resilient to the impacts of cryospheric changes, including sea-level rise, water and food scarcity, geotechnical risks, and threats to trade, economies, and energy sources.

Collaborative Global Efforts: Promoting global collaboration to limit and reduce cryosphere loss and its impacts through coordinated observations, targeted research, and accurate, timely services.

Data and Knowledge Accessibility: Ensuring that data, science, and indigenous knowledge are accessible to inform policies and decisions on response, mitigation, and adaptation to future changes.

Universal Understanding and Action: Increasing global understanding of the importance and consequences of cryospheric changes to inspire urgent and effective action.

Increased Engagement in Antarctica

The WMO Executive Council also agreed to enhance engagement and coordination in Antarctica, recognizing its critical role in global weather and climate systems. Improved and sustained data availability from Antarctica is crucial for better global climate model predictions and weather forecasts. This includes consultations among WMO Members that are also parties to the Antarctic Treaty and those affected by downstream impacts of melting ice sheets.

Future Plans

Under PHORS' auspices, work is underway to establish an Antarctic Regional Climate Centre network for coordinated data, climate monitoring, and long-range forecast services. South Africa has volunteered to coordinate this network. The WMO reaffirms its commitment to the Antarctic Treaty System and plans to develop a roadmap for a WMO service strategy for Antarctica, building on advances in meteorological services for navigation in the Southern Ocean.

The WMO remains an invited expert to the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings and an observer with the Committee for Environmental Protection of the Antarctic Treaty System, reinforcing its role in addressing the critical challenges facing the cryosphere.