China's glacier area shrinks by 26 percent over six decades

New data reveals retreat accelerating, with 7,000 small ones disappearing

The glacier area in China has shrunk by about 26 percent over the past 60 years, with approximately 7,000 small glaciers disappearing, according to data from the Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The findings were released on Friday, the first World Day for Glaciers, as researchers presented China's third glacier inventory at the 3rd Chinese Conference of Cryospheric Science in Lingshui, Hainan province.

The data shows that around 2020, China's total glacier area was about 46,000 square kilometers, with roughly 69,000 glaciers. Comparing the country's first glacier inventory — conducted between 1960 and 1980 — with its third, the glacier area has decreased by 4.8 percent per decade.