Euro-Mediterranean glaciers are melt at an unprecedented rhythm, threatening ecosystems and communities. The Mediterranean heats up faster than the global average, while millions of people risk forced migrations. THE’Union for the Mediterranean Launches the alarm and urges urgent actions to counter this climatic crisis
Euro-Mediterranean glaciers in danger
The glaciers of the Euro-Mediterranean area are disappearing at an alarming rhythm. In recent years, their retreat has accelerated drastically, hitting Pyrenees, Alps, Apennines and Balkan peninsula. Their survival is increasingly precarious and, without urgent interventions, many could completely disappear in the next decades.
The dissolution of the glaciers, a direct consequence of global warming, triggers devastating effects: floods, landslides, drought and a dangerous rising of sea level. These ice ecosystems regulate the water cycle, but their rapid decline generates serious environmental imbalances.
Unpredictable water flows threaten people and habitats, aggravating an already dramatic water crisis. In a Mediterranean already affected by scarcity of water, more than 250 million people will be expected by 2040 as they will be classified as “Poor of water”.
L’Union for Mediterranean, UfM, Union for the Mediterranean, intensifies the efforts to promote integrated solutions, facing the delicate link between water, energy, food and ecosystems.
Reduce emissions and promote sustainability
Today, March 22, 2025, on the occasion of World Water DayWorld Water Day, the UFM, launches a clear alarm: Mediterranean glaciers are merging at record speeds. Those of Alps and Pyrenees, among the most affected in Europe, have lost 40% of their mass in the last 25 years. As a member of the UN Mountain Partnershipthe UFM highlights the link between the disappearance of glaciers and catastrophic phenomena such as floods, landslides, drought and the inexorable rising of the marine level.
«On the occasion of the World Water Day, It is essential to recognize that climate change and environmental degradation represent regional challenges that threaten water safety, coastal resilience and the well -being of citizens – Nasser Kamel, general secretary of the Union for the Mediterranean said. We all have to reduce emissions and promote sustainability. The UFM is committed to developing collaborative climatic solutions to protect our shared sea “.
Mediterranean hot point of climate change
The situation is particularly critical. The Mediterranean, identified as a hot point of the climate change20% faster than the global average is heating. Has already exceeded the increase of 1.5 ° C set byParis agreementaggravating the risks for millions of people.
The scientific group MedECCsupported by the UFM, underlines that even a slight increase in sea level could cause floods and forced migrations. Currently, the Mediterranean sea grows by 2.8 mm per year, double compared to the twentieth century.
By 2100, the level could get up to one meter, forcing 20 million people to leave their homes. With a third of the Mediterranean population that lives along the coast, exposure to environmental risks is increasingly high.
The UFM will ask for more protections for the Mediterranean
Medecc warns that The efforts of the Mediterranean countries to combat climate change remain insufficient. For the UFM, expanding funding and strengthening environmental policies is crucial to contain this crisis. At the United Nations Conference on the Oceans, scheduled in June in Nice, the UFM will ask for more protections for the Mediterranean and organize an event entirely dedicated to the Region.
Furthermore, as a founding member of the Blue Mediterranean Partnershipwill present the first projects of the initiative, developed in Morocco, Egypt and Jordan. This multidonator fund, intended for sustainable investments in theblue economyaims to mobilize a billion euros to improve the coordination of funding and strengthen the environmental resilience of the region.