“If it were not for the ice on Earth, a billion people would be under water.”

Scientists in Paris warn of the melting of the mantle, polar ice and glaciers, which make up about 15 percent of the Earth’s surface.

In Paris, international scientists warned of the increasing melting of the poles and glaciers and called for allocating more funds for research in threatened areas. “Politicians must realize how vulnerable this space is,” French special envoy to the Arctic and Antarctic, Olivier Poivre Darfur, said in Paris on Wednesday.

“Without ice on Earth, a billion people would be under water and a billion people would not have access to water,” Poivre Dafour said in a statement published on the X electronic service (formerly Twitter). He explained that the so-called cryosphere, which includes polar ice and glaciers, but also permafrost, makes up about 15 percent of the Earth’s surface. He said: “Polar research needs new funding. It is not funded adequately.”

The receding permafrost can be felt in the Alps

The International Polar Summit is being held as part of the One Planet Meetings launched by French President Emmanuel Macron – originally to strengthen international efforts to protect the climate without then-US President and climate skeptic Donald Trump. Macron wants to deliver a speech at the end of the meeting on Friday.

At the end of the meeting, a report will be presented on the state of the cryosphere. Melting ice poses many risks, such as sea level rise, the emission of large amounts of carbon dioxide, and the emergence of epidemics. The effects of retreating permafrost are becoming increasingly felt in the Alps: with each heatwave, the number of rockfalls increases dramatically; Last summer there were more than 200. (APA/AFP)