Welcome to The Strawman, the daily climate newsletter that’s melting hearts faster than Europe’s glaciers—just without the catastrophic consequences.

Europe’s Icy Retreat

In the last 24 years, glaciers in Europe’s Alps and Pyrenees have lost about 40% of their volume. Globally, glaciers are melting at an alarming rate, shedding roughly 273 billion tonnes of ice annually—that’s three Olympic swimming pools’ worth every second. To put that into perspective, it’s like the planet is constantly sweating through a never-ending heatwave. And this isn't a slow burn—melting between 2012 and 2023 increased by 36% compared to the previous decade.

Why Melting Glaciers Matter

Losing glaciers isn’t just bad news for skiing holidays and scenic Instagram posts. Glaciers act as natural reservoirs, gradually releasing water into rivers and ecosystems. Without them, water availability for around 2 billion people is at risk. Plus, their rapid melt contributes to rising sea levels, flooding coastal cities and threatening low-lying regions worldwide. Imagine your bathtub slowly filling up—except the drain is clogged, and the water’s coming from ice that’s been frozen for thousands of years.

A Race Against Rising Seas

If you think a few centimetres of sea level rise isn’t a big deal, think again. For every centimetre the oceans rise, an extra 2 million people face annual flooding. Combine that with more extreme weather events, and you’ve got a recipe for disaster. Meanwhile, melting glaciers in regions like the Himalayas have already triggered catastrophic floods, wiping out entire villages. Scientists warn that without rapid cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, we’ll see even faster ice loss—and with it, more unpredictable and extreme impacts.

The takeaway 

Glaciers may be the planet’s “canary in the coal mine,” but this canary is practically screaming. Slashing emissions is the only way to slow the melt, because once that ice is gone, there’s no putting it back.