UNESCO’s World Water Development Report (WWDR): Glaciers around the globe are disappearing faster than ever, with the last three years recording the largest glacial mass loss on record, according to a UNESCO report.

• Key Highlights of the report:

o Theme: Mountains and glaciers – Water towers.

o Ice Loss: 9,000 gigatonnes of ice lost since 1975, equal to an ice block the size of Germany with a thickness of 25 metres.

o Major Contributors: Mountain glaciers are among the largest contributors to sea level rise.

o Sea Level Rise: Between 2000 and 2023, glacier melt caused 18 mm of global sea level rise (~1 mm/year), exposing 300,000 people annually to flooding.

o Glacial Disappearance: Rwenzori Mountains’ glaciers (Uganda and DRC) expected to vanish by 2030.

• About Pastoruri Glacier (Peruvian Andes, Peru): One of the glaciers facing rapid melting due to global warming, located in the Peruvian Andes.
• About UNESCO’s World Water Development Report (WWDR): UN-Water’s flagship report on water and sanitation issues.

o Launch: Released on World Water Day (March 22), with a different theme each year.

o Publisher: Published by UNESCO on behalf of UN-Water; coordinated by the UNESCO World Water Assessment Programme.