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WMO Secretary-General Message

Glaciers are precious water sources, sustaining livelihoods of billions of people and supporting key sectors such as agriculture, industry, and clean energy. Yet, they are disappearing at an alarming rate due to climate change.

In 2023, glaciers lost over 600 gigatons of water, marking the highest mass loss recorded in the past five decades of record-keeping. For the second consecutive year, all glaciated regions in the world reported ice loss.

Glaciers play a crucial role in the global water cycle, regulating seasonal water availability. If temperatures continue to rise, their hydrological contribution will diminish, leading to significant disruptions in water supplies. By the end of the century, glacier runoff is projected to decline substantially, threatening ecosystems, economies, and our collective future.

Every fraction of a degree of warming therefore matters. Urgent action is needed to slow glacier loss and mitigate the far-reaching consequences of climate change.

This year¡¯s World Water Day aligns with the International Year of Glaciers¡¯ Preservation 2025, co-coordinated by WMO and UNESCO. This initiative aims to raise global awareness of glaciers' vital role, promote concrete action, enhance scientific research, and strengthen policy frameworks and financial support for glacier preservation.

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has elevated the cryosphere¡ªglaciers, snow, ice sheets, permafrost, and sea ice¡ª to one of its top priorities, advocating for stronger international collaboration in monitoring and understanding changes in snow and ice in all forms.

Programs such as the Global Cryosphere Watch and the WMO Integrated Processing and Prediction System are crucial in providing the data and information necessary for effective climate action. Good decisions and effective policies need to be evidence based, and WMO is working with Members and partners to enhance monitoring, data exchange, and cooperation.

Strengthening these areas will enable better water resource management and early warning systems for glacier-related hazards, helping communities adapt to changing water availability and increasing climate risks.

Preserving glaciers requires stabilizing the climate and this is not just an environmental issue¡ªit is a survival strategy.

WMO Secretary-General, Celeste Saulo

ILO Director-General Message

Glacier preservation is central to economic growth, employment and decent work for billions of people. Glacial retreat, and the floods and sea level rise that it can cause, are a threat to the livelihoods of all who depend on agriculture, fishing, forestry and tourism.

Glaciers world over are shrinking. In Central Europe, North and South America, Central Asia and New Zealand glaciers are retreating, with possibly devastating consequences for the people that depend on them for water. In Africa, the iconic Mount Kilimanjaro is losing its ice field. Globally, glaciers and ice caps, excluding the large polar ice sheets, are projected to lose about 60 per cent of their mass if we don¡¯t mitigate climate change.

It does not have to be this way. We can reverse the trend of glacier loss through climate action and a just transition to sustainable economies and societies. By reducing greenhouse gas emissions and managing meltwater more sustainably, we can stop glacier melt while also creating new jobs in environmentally-friendly industries and services. Through social dialogue, governments, employers¡¯ and workers¡¯ organizations can also contribute to this transition.

On this year¡¯s World Water Day, I urge countries to support our efforts to save the glaciers. Our planet depends on it.

ILO Director-General, Gilbert F. Houngbo

UN-Habitat Executive Director Message

Water is life. Yet, for 2.2 billion people, clean and reliable water services remain out of reach. This is especially severe in informal settlements and slums, where 1.1 billion live today in the context of a global housing crisis that affects 2.8 billion people.

UN-Habitat recognizes that access to water is a global urban challenge. We work with governments, regions, utility providers and communities across the world to strengthen policies, expand access to water and build long-term resilience in urban contexts.

We support Member States to ensure that every household has access to water and sanitation. I thank Member States and global and regional partners like Germany, the Netherlands, the European Union, and the Gates Foundation, who support this critical work.

This World Water Day focuses on the need to protect one of the critical sources of freshwater that sustain our planet: glaciers.

Rapid unplanned urbanization ¨C as well as climate change ¨C threatens our ecosystems and affects water availability, quality, and security. If glaciers disappear, we will face more droughts and struggle to provide water to communities.

If we are to secure our shared urban future, we must act to safeguard the water sources that sustain it.

It is our common responsibility to prioritize glacier preservation by advancing sustainable urban planning and land use, investing in resilient infrastructure and nature-based solutions, strengthening water utilities, and promoting community participation.

Through our Global Water Operators¡¯ Partnership Alliance and multilevel climate programmes, such as Water as Leverage, we are working to turn these priorities into action.

UN-Habitat has partnered with UN-Water on this year¡¯s United Nations World Water Development Report to highlight the importance of mountain waters for our societies, economies and environment.

Water unites us all. By protecting our glaciers today and managing water wisely, we ensure a more sustainable tomorrow.

Let us create a world where every person across all cities and human settlements has access to water for life.

Executive Director of UN-Habitat, Anacl¨¢udia Rossbach