Glaciers form in places with exceedingly low temperatures, like the mountain tops with high altitudes or areas at sea level. While it’s usual for glaciers to melt slowly, it becomes harmful and can cause damaging effects if it happens too fast.
Melting glaciers pertain to the ice changing its form from solid to liquid. The process happens as heat changes and becomes faster when the temperatures become relatively high.
Here are the top causes of melting glaciers:
Deforestation
Trees make the planet cooler and create a balance in the ecosystem. Unfortunately, this balance is compromised due to the illegal cutting of trees for profit.
Deforestation also causes an increase in carbon dioxide because fewer trees absorb them. It also leads to rising sea levels—all of these speed up the process of global warming and melting glaciers.
Burning of fossil fuels
This activity causes a rise in temperatures and the buildup of greenhouse gases in the air. As the heat gets trapped in the atmosphere, temperatures become warmer, and more glaciers melt.
Drilling of oil and gas
The extraction of oil and gas produces methane, a primary element found in natural gas. It locks the heat and boosts global warming, hence the findings that methane is more harmful than carbon dioxide.
Scientists have pointed out the alarming rate at which glaciers were melting in the past. While the water from melted glaciers supplies the world with freshwater, too much liquid all at once leads to a significant ripple effect. When the world loses ice quickly, problems follow, including loss of biodiversity and extreme flooding.