USask researcher named co-chair of United Nations advisory board

Glaciers around the world are melting at an alarming rate and their disappearance from the landscape has long-term implications for communities, ecosystems and freshwater resources. 

Appointed by the United Nations Education, Science and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Pomeroy will co-facilitate discussions on how best to move forward with awareness efforts for 2025.  

Pomeroy adds the prestigious designation to his already impressive list of existing roles which includes the Canada Research Chair in Water Resources and Climate Change, UNESCO Chair in Mountain Water Sustainability, director of the Global Water Futures and Global Water Futures Observatories programs at the University of Saskatchewan (USask) and the director of USask’s Centre for Hydrology. 

“We are not going to be able to stop glacial loss in 2025, but the idea is to raise awareness on why we are losing them and what will happen if we continue to lose more,” said Pomeroy. 

According to Pomeroy, deglaciation, or the loss of glaciers, would change when and how water flows through Saskatchewan. 

“In Western Canada, the headwaters of the Saskatchewan River system are glaciated, and these provide important freshwater supplies to our rivers in the hottest, driest periods of the year,” he said. 

Glacial loss also has implications for coastal cities which would experience rises in sea level and encroaching water. In mountain communities, the loss of glaciers has negative impacts on wildlife including salmon and trout which need cold water to survive the summer months.  Wildfires also have increased due to lower spring snowpacks and warmer temperatures in recent summers and soot from these fires darkens glaciers, increasing their melt and retreat. 

Pomeroy said that the continued loss of glaciers could lead to tremendous change within our lifetime but that we still have time to change the course of the future. 

“Humans are water managers, we have been for millennia, so there are things that we can do to make our water supplies more secure,” said Pomeroy. “We can protect ecosystems, manage our storage reservoirs more effectively, compensate for the loss of snow and ice and make sure that mountain communities are safe from flooding and have adequate water supply.”   

In late August, the UN General Assembly proclaimed 2025-2034 a “Decade of Action for Cryosphere Sciences.” This decade of action will allow scientists, policy makers, governments and communities to work towards preserving the entire cryosphere —the regions of the world that are covered by snow and ice. 

The UN International Year of Glacier Preservation will kick off with the first World Glaciers Day to be held on March 21 at the UN General Assembly in New York City.