Highlighting the vital links between cryosphere, water and gender equality.
The UNESCO, WMO and the IYGP Community will celebrate the World Day for Glaciers 2026 and the World Water Day at UNESCO's Headquarters in Paris on 18-19 March 2026 , closing the International Year of Glaciers' Preservation 2025 and launching the new Decade of Action for Cryospheric Sciences with dedicated sessions and side events highlighting the vital links between cryosphere, water and gender equality. The cryosphere, including glaciers, ice sheets, permafrost, sea ice and snow, stores around 70% of Earth’s freshwater, yet it is shrinking fast. Glaciers are losing mass every year; Arctic sea ice has declined by about 40% since 1979; and the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets are melting at accelerating rates, with long-term implications for sea level rise. Cryosphere loss already affects water security, ecosystems, infrastructure and disaster risk worldwide. In response, the United Nations designated March 21st as World Day for Glaciers and proclaimed Year 2025 as Inte...
