Glaciers: Water towers of the world

What is a glacier? And what happens when they melt? Glacier ice is the world's largest freshwater reservoir. About 1 in 5 people depend on them as their main source of drinking water, as do countless animals and plants. As they melt, it's a boom time for nature, with plenty of water to go around. But what happens if glaciers disappear completely and the water stops flowing ? To investigate the past and present impact of glaciers, and what they mean for the nature, culture and communities that depend on them, Tori and Khalil meet with trusted scientists, artists and activists, from Austria to Pakistan. Along the way, we'll find out: -How did a glacier carve Britain into an island? -What's a GLOF and why are they so dangerous? -How did one man stop a glacier being levelled for a ski resort? Contributors: Bethan Davies - Glaciologist from Newcastle University Duncan Quincey - Professor of Glaciology Gabriel Wolken - Cryosphere researcher Saba Khan - Pakistani artist Matteo Spagnolo - Professor of geography, University of Aberdeen Gerd Estermann - Retired teacher-turned-activist from Austria Join the conversation on social media using and tag us: Instagram: @natural_history_museum Twitter: @NHM_London TikTok: @its_NHM Learn more about how you can take action for nature and find additional resources at

You can listen to Glaciers: Water towers of the world online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Glaciers: Water towers of the world is an episode from Wild Crimes by The Natural History Museum, London.

This episode is 38:25 long.

This episode was published on Jul 4, 2023.

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