Climate crisis: Melting glaciers just the tip of the iceberg

17 April, 2023 

Interview by Caeden Tipler, adapted by Ashley-Rose Redstone 

NIWA climate and environment applications principal scientist Drew Lorrey emphasised says glaciers melting is a sign of the growing impact of the climate crisis. Photo: Canva.

Listen to the full interviews with Drew Lorrey and Lauren Vargo

Increasing summer temperatures are causing Aotearoa’s glaciers to shrink. Two years of record-breaking heat have taken a toll on our glaciers, with 2022 being New Zealand’s hottest year on record. 

In their annual survey to monitor glacier health, the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) found that we are continuing to see ice loss across the Southern Alps — a range of mountains extending along the South Island. 

In 2020, NIWA estimated that Aotearoa’s glaciers had lost a third of their ice volume since 1978.

Glaciologist at the Antarctic Research Centre at Victoria University, Lauren Vargo, told Caedan Tipler on 95bFM’s The Wire that the melting glaciers could significantly impact local culture.

Aotearoa’s glaciers attract observers from around the globe and provide a range of recreational activities, including hikes. 

Vargo said melting glaciers could decrease these activities' availability for locals and visiting tourists.

But Vargo argued that glacier decline would likely have the largest effect on Aotearoa’s water resources.

An abundance of Aotearoa’s water resources come from ice caps and glaciers and are responsible for nourishing streams, especially throughout droughts. Vargo explained that a lack of glaciers would deprive agriculture of this support.

NIWA climate and environment applications principal scientist Drew Lorrey told The Wire that most of Aotearoa's smaller glaciers have become functionally extinct over time.

“We are going to lose a significant amount of our glacier ice in the coming decades. Only the glaciers located in the highest Alpine reaches of New Zealand are going to be what remains.”

Lorrey emphasised that the reduction of glaciers is a sign of the growing impact of the climate crisis and that glaciers are just the tip of the iceberg. 

“We have to think that if we can see that changing quickly, and things are changing quickly in the mountains, what else is changing quickly that we actually do not have a handle on?”

Lorrey is calling for coordinated and urgent action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions needed to mitigate the temperature increase.

“Right now, the pace of action is insufficient to stem the loss of a lot of our ice.”

Vargo added that voting for candidates with environmental policies and climate-focused strategies is important in introducing positive change.