U.N. finds strange glacial patterns

• Tweet

CANCUN, Mexico, Dec. 8 (UPI) -- Fluctuations in the ice mass associated with glaciers highlight worrisome trends in the impact of global climate change, a U.N. report from Mexico warns.

A report from the U.N. Environment Program concluded that glaciers in Alaska, Argentina and Chile are melting faster than other glaciers.

UNEP said glaciers in the northern parts of North America, the Himalayas and parts of the Andes were receding at alarming rates.

"Accumulation of science shows us a clear general trend of melting glaciers linked to a warming climate and perhaps other impacts, such as the deposit of soot, reducing the reflection of heat back into space," said UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner in a statement.

Despite these trends, UNEP found that higher rainfall meant glaciers in parts of Norway, New Zealand and South America were increasing in size.

Meanwhile, parts of the Karakoram Range in Asia that haven't seen ice in 50 years are starting to experience glacial expansion, UNEP reported.

"This report underlines a global trend, observed over many decades now in some parts of the globe, which has short- and long-term implications for considerable numbers of people in terms of water supplies and vulnerability," added Steiner.