Mountain glaciers are shrinking three times faster than they were in the 1980s, scientists have announced.
The World Glacier Monitoring Service, which continuously studies a sample of 30 glaciers around the world, says the acceleration is down to climate change.
Its announcement came as climate scientists convened in Paris to decide the final wording of a major report. There is reported to be some disagreement over what forecasts they will make for sea level rise.
But whatever form of words they agree on, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will declare that human-induced climate change is happening and needs to be tackled.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6310869.stmThree photographs, taken in 1912, 1968 and 2003, show how a glacier at Vernagtferner in Austria has shrunk. It lost over half a metre in thickness during 2005 alone.