This image of Iceland's first dead glacier is a stark reminder that we need to act now

An image of Iceland’s first dead glacier should be all the reminder we need that time is running out and we need to act now.

Okjökull was declared dead in 2014 and now, half a decade on, a team of geologists will hike to the summit and leave a metal memorial in its place. The glacier is officially considered the first lost to climate change. Oddur Sigurðsson, a geologist in the Icelandic Meteorological Office, told Mashable: “The condition of the glaciers is getting poorer and poorer.”

Since 2001, we've seen 18 of the warmest 19 years on record. Glaciers are retreating all over the globe and the repercussions are obviously enormous for the future of humanity.

Sigurðsson has documented the disappearance of 56 out of 300 smaller glaciers in northern Iceland. The dramatic changes since 1986 should alarm us all and should surely be considered a bipartisan issue but sadly not. In the immortal words of Pope Francis:

The earth, our home, is beginning to look more and more like an immense pile of filth.

HT Mashable

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