This comes after figures from Statistics NZ revealed yesterday total glacier ice volumes in New Zealand decreased by 42% between 2005 and 2023.
University of Otago climate scientist Prof Nicolas Cullen said the Southern Alps were losing about one cubic kilometre of ice every year — which was equivalent to 400,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
He said there had been an increase in loss of ice over the past two decades and it showed how sensitive to global warming glaciers were.
The loss of ice was caused by climate change and the warming of temperatures.
Mr Cullen said the glaciers were "valuable water resources" and they impacted the availability of water for hydroelectric power generation and irrigation.
"It changes the way water moves through from mountains to our lakes, through our rivers to the ocean."
Water from glaciers in the Southern Alps contributed to the Waitaki Hydropower scheme and other power schemes.
A glacier volume project from the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change predicted 80% of New Zealand’s glaciers would be gone by the end of this century in the case of a high emission pathway.
Mr Cullen said even if we went down a lower emission pathway, there would still be a substantial loss of ice from our glaciers.
He said action needed to be taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Glaciers were not only important water resources, but were important for tourism and cultural connection.
By the end of the century there would not be any glaciers left on valley floors and tourist attractions like Franz Josef would not be easily accessible for photo opportunities.
Mr Cullen said the numbers from Statistics NZ compared favourably to a recent study from the Glacier Mass Balance Intercomparisons Team.
Both showed consistent retreat since 2000, with the loss of glacier volume in the Southern Alps between 30% and 40% from 2000 to 2023.
He said the retreat was also consistent with observations and modelling on Brewster Glacier.
