(21 Mar 2025)
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Perito Moreno Glacier, Argentina – 18 March 2025
1. Various of a group of tourists walking on the Perito Moreno Glacier
2. A person drinking water from the glacier
3. A line of people walking on the glacier
4. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Marcia Fortuna, tourist:
"It’s tiring but worth it. It’s beautiful and awe-inspiring."
5. Glacier guide Victoria Pacheco during the excursion to the Perito Moreno Glacier
6. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Victoria Pacheco, Perito Moreno Glacier tour guide:
++STARTS IN SHOT 5++
"Although this glacier has been in equilibrium for a hundred years, during the last ten years, it has shown an antigravitational rate of retreat. It is melting. It shows a high melting rate and retreat rate compared to previous years."
7. An ice floe and the glacier in the background
8. Visitors taking pictures and videos of the glacier from a boat
9. Footbridge from where visitors observe the Perito Moreno glacier in Los Glaciares National Park, Argentina
10. Perito Moreno Glacier
STORYLINE:
Friday marks the first-ever World Glacier Day, an international observance established by the United Nations to raise awareness about the rapid retreat of glaciers worldwide.
As experts warn of accelerating ice loss, visitors at Argentina’s Perito Moreno Glacier watch in awe as massive ice chunks break away and crash into Lake Argentino—a process both natural and symbolic of broader climate concerns.
The event, known as calving, is a normal occurrence, according to Victoria Pacheco, a tour guide in El Calafate.
She led a group on a glacier trek three days before the global observance.
The UN designated March 21 as World Glacier Day in 2022 to promote glacier conservation, as these frozen giants represent some of the planet’s most crucial freshwater reserves.
During the summer season, tourists flock to walkways located just 500 meters from the glacier for an expansive view of its icy mass set against the backdrop of the Andes. Many also opt for trekking tours, strapping on crampons and helmets to traverse the glacier’s undulating terrain and peer into its deep blue crevasses, some formed centuries ago.
Marcia Fortuna, a 46-year-old tourist from Santa Fe, Argentina, recently explored the region’s glaciers, including Upsala and Spegazzini. “It’s tiring but worth it,” she said. “It’s beautiful and awe-inspiring.”
While no definitive studies confirm significant changes to Perito Moreno in recent years, guides like Pacheco note a visible decrease in ice.
"It shows a high melting rate and retreat rate compared to previous years." she said.
The glacier’s famous ice dam last formed in 2018, when the ice pushed against the Magallanes Peninsula, temporarily blocking a section of the lake before eventually collapsing.
When the glacier ruptures, it creates a stunning natural spectacle—described by National Geographic as a “thunderous, slow-motion drama” as massive ice towers topple into the water, sending waves rippling across the lake.
According to UNESCO, glaciers are “fragile mirrors” of climate change, reflecting rising global temperatures through their retreat and ice loss. The organization warns that unless greenhouse gas emissions are curbed, half of the world’s glaciers could disappear by 2100, threatening freshwater supplies and ecosystems.
The UN warns that glaciers worldwide are melting “faster than ever.” It designated March 21 as World Glacier Day, highlighting their crucial role in freshwater supply and urging conservation efforts.
AP Video by Sara España
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