Venezuela has become the first country in modern history to lose all its glaciers. Climate scientists say that the remaining glaciers in the country have now turned into mere ice fields.
Meteorologist Maximiliano Herrera tweeted on the social media platform X, stating that Venezuela’s Humboldt Glacier has melted, leaving only two hectares (approximately five acres) of ice fields.
The Humboldt Glacier is Venezuela’s last glacier. Due to climate change in the past century, at least five glaciers in the country have melted away.
Multiple glacier experts note that the Sierra Nevada National Park in Venezuela has very few glaciers remaining. While there is no standard for designating a snow reserve as a glacier on a global scale, according to the US Geological Survey, an area of 10 hectares (24.71 acres) is a common criterion.
At the beginning of the 20th century, there were six glaciers in Venezuela, spread over 999.7 square kilometers. In this area, the Humboldt covered up to 450 hectares, but according to researchers, this glacier has now shrunk to only two hectares.
A study conducted in 2020 revealed that between 1952 and 2019, 98% of the glaciers had receded.
