According to recent news, Venezuela has achieved a somber turning point in the fight against climate change: the disappearance of its final glacier, which places it as the first country to experience the total melting of all of its ice sheets. Venezuela was home to six glaciers that covered an astounding 1,000 square kilometers in 1910. These have now diminished to little more than ice shards that don’t qualify as glaciers anymore.
By 2011, just the Humboldt glacier, also called La Corona, remained in the Sierra Nevada National Park, fighting for survival after five of Venezuela’s glaciers disappeared. However, even this icy monument has shrunk so much that its original definition has been altered to include an ice field.
Professor Julio Cesar Centeno of the University of the Andes (ULA) declared, “There are no longer any glaciers in Venezuela.” He bemoaned much more the fact that what’s left is only 0.4 percent of what it was.
La Corona’s current extent is less than 0.02 square kilometers (2 hectares), significantly smaller than the 0.1 square kilometers (10 hectares) minimal size criterion for glacier classification. At its peak, La Corona covered 4.5 square kilometers (1.7 square miles).
The glacial coverage of Venezuela decreased by an astounding 98% between 1953 and 2019 according to research done over the last five years. After 1998, the rate of ice loss increased dramatically, peaking in 2016 at almost 17 percent annually.
By 2015, La Corona, which occupied around 0.6 square kilometers (0.2 square miles) in 1998, had receded to the point that it was almost ready to lose its glacial designation. Additionally, ULA researchers noted that during their most recent voyage in December 2023, they saw the glacier lose about two hectares compared to their 2019 measurement.
The government of Venezuela attempted in vain to shield the Humboldt glacier in December by wrapping it in a geotextile blanket, but the attempt was criticized by environmentalists who feared that the deteriorating fabric would contaminate the ecology.
The melting of Venezuela’s glaciers highlights how urgently the world must combat climate change. Globally, glaciers are facing a similar fate due to rising temperatures, which will have disastrous effects on ecosystems and societies who depend on their freshwater stores.
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