Andean Glaciers Shrinking, Threatening Water Security

The Andean Mountain Range, which covers Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia, has its glaciers as the source of water for millions of citizens. The glaciers supply water for household consumption, hydroelectric power generation, farming, and grazing. But climate change is fast causing them to retreat, leaving the region vulnerable to a drastic water and food security crisis.

A just-published policy brief entitled The Future of the Andean Water Towers, published at a conference on March 21, 2025, by researchers at the Universities of Sheffield and Newcastle, describes the catastrophic rate of glacier loss and what it means. The brief indicates that Andean glaciers are shrinking by 0.7 meters annually—35% higher than the world average. If this pattern persists, the Tropical Andes would experience nearly total loss of glaciers, while other parts of the mountain range might lose more than half their glaciers by the end of the century.

Dr. Jeremy Ely, a researcher from the University of Sheffield's School of Geography and Planning, reiterated the grim state of affairs when he said that despite warnings issued by climate scientists for decades now, not much has been accomplished to reduce carbon emissions globally. "The very first Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report about climate change was released in 1990, and since then, very little has been accomplished to slow the global carbon emissions driving climate change," he explained.

The policy brief provides unequivocal evidence that the pace of glacier retreat has drastically increased over the past few decades. Ice loss in the Andes since 2000 has been unprecedented, and this corresponds with a drastic increase in global greenhouse gas emissions. The impact of this sudden melting is already being experienced in the region as increased air temperature, intense weather patterns, reduced snowfall, and extended droughts pose the threat of the long-term sustainability of these glaciers.

This crisis is occurring in the shadow of the 2015 Paris Agreement, in which nations committed to capping global warming at 1.5°C to avoid disastrous climate effects. Yet that level was surpassed for a few months in 2024, and forecasts indicate that temperatures are likely to increase above 2°C in the near future. If global warming is left unabated, significant sections of the Andes will be completely or almost ice-free by 2100.

Andean glacier loss would have catastrophic effects on the tens of millions of people dependent upon them. As glacier-fed water supply diminishes, many countries will be forced to seek alternative water management schemes such as the large-scale construction of reservoirs and dams. Yet these projects are costly, which many in the impoverished nations of the region may not be able to fund. Unless there are appropriate adaptation measures, water shortages may result in food insecurity, economic instability, and heightened social tensions.

Dr. Ely emphasized the need for urgency, cautioning that climbing temperatures—possibly reaching as high as 4.5°C by century's end—would only intensify these problems. "This kind of ice loss along the Andes requires immediate concern because it will add to the pressure on freshwater supplies depended on by communities and large cities downstream of the glaciers," he stated.

He also highlighted that international collaboration is the key to solving the crisis. "All the targets that have been established have already been missed and failed, yet the only option to save glaciers is to reduce carbon emissions dramatically once and for all," he added. "The situation is grave, and it will take international cooperation to address climate change and make a significant difference for the communities throughout the world most at risk of its impacts."

The policy brief clearly explains that though curtailing carbon emissions is still the most important thing to do, efficient management of water resources would also be the key to meeting the challenge posed by shifting environmental conditions. The Andean countries need to gear up for lesser availability of water, altered trends in supply and demand, as well as chances of climate migration and conflict.

As the world itself struggles with global warming, Andean glaciers withering away become a grim symbol of the fact that action can no longer afford to wait. Unless firm actions are taken swiftly, millions may be left standing at the verge of an unpredictable future, one where water resources dwindle to scarcity, starvation looms for food, and economic deprivation settles in.

Report by University of Sheffield