• This year, March 21 is World Glacier Day for the first time
• 2025 has been declared the International Year of Glacier Conservation

The theme of this year’s World Water Day on March 22, “Glacier Conservation,” draws global attention to the fact that glaciers are melting faster than ever before. As the planet heats up, our frozen world is shrinking, making the water cycle more unpredictable. For billions of people around the world, melting glaciers are devastating, causing floods, droughts, landslides, and rising sea levels. Countless communities and ecosystems are at risk of devastation.

Glaciers store approximately 70% of the world’s fresh water, making them the largest freshwater reservoir on Earth. Nearly 2 billion people rely on water from glaciers, snowmelt, and mountain runoff for drinking, agriculture, and energy production. The increased melting of glaciers is contributing significantly to global sea level rise, with sea levels now about 20cm higher than in 1900.

A resolution by the UN General Assembly declared 2025 the International Year of Glaciers, and 21 March - as World Glacier Day, starting this year.

On 21 March, an event will be held at UN Headquarters in New York to mark World Water Day and the first World Glacier Day. The event will launch the UN World Water Development Report 2025, which recommends guidelines for water policy development. This flagship report is published by UNESCO on behalf of the UN Water Facility (UN-Water) and coordinated by the UNESCO World Water Assessment Programme (WWAP).

These initiatives aim to raise global awareness of the vital role of glaciers, snow, and ice in the climate system and the water cycle and to highlight the economic, social, and environmental impacts of changes in the Earth’s cryosphere. They encourage the sharing of best practices and knowledge to address the accelerated melting of glaciers and its consequences. The message is to work together to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and manage meltwater in a more sustainable way for people and the planet.

On the eve of March 22, tens of thousands of people and organizations around the world are hosting events on the occasion of World Water Day and participating in the global public campaign. Regional divisions of the Ministry of Environment and Water throughout the country are joining the campaign with various initiatives for World Water Day in partnership with educational institutions and non-governmental organizations in individual regions. You can join by getting to know them HERE.

You can see the initiatives carried out HERE.

Key facts about glacier loss and the adaptation and mitigation actions called for by World Water Day can be found HERE.

Link to the official World Water Day website:

https://www.unwater.org/our-work/world-water-day

World Water Day has been celebrated annually by the United Nations since 1993 with a focus on the importance of water for life on the planet and the need to protect it. The campaign is coordinated by the UN Water Mechanism and draws attention to taking action to address the water crisis worldwide. A main focus of World Water Day is to help achieve UN Sustainable Development Goal 6: Clean Drinking Water and Sanitation for all by 2030.