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The Guardian Environment·3 min read·medium

The US west has lost nearly 300 glaciers since the 1960s. Climate crisis is drastically shrinking what’s left

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Oliver Milman with data visuals by Andrew Witherspoon and Daniel Wolfe
The US west has lost nearly 300 glaciers since the 1960s. Climate crisis is drastically shrinking what’s left
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A new study reveals that the western United States has lost nearly 300 glaciers since the 1960s due to rising temperatures. Researchers warn that the remaining glaciers are shrinking rapidly, threatening local ecosystems and water supplies.

Why it matters

The loss of glaciers serves as a critical indicator of the accelerating climate crisis and its tangible impact on regional water security and environmental stability.

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At the midpoint of the last century the region had 1,450 glaciers and a new study reveals the extent of losses

1903 2018 Hayden glacier Oregon More than 11,000 years ago, the end of the last ice age left glaciers across North America.

The icepacks in the western US are vanishing in our lifetimes, accelerated by the climate crisis.

Researchers documented that hundreds of places like these are now lost to time.

Across the US west, rising temperatures are causing glaciers to retreat to the point of vanishing. About 300 glaciers have disappeared since the 1960s, with almost all of the rest set to drastically shrink as the climate crisis continues to escalate, a new study has found.

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