A STARK report about the impact of climate change on the oceans and the global ice system was published on Wednesday by leading UN scientists.

The Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate, the third report in the past year from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), warns that ice stores are melting and sea levels rising, affecting more than 1.3 billion people who live in the world’s frozen areas and low-lying coastal zones.

Smaller glaciers in Europe, Eastern Africa, the tropical Andes, and Indonesia are projected to lose more than 80 per cent of their current ice mass by 2100 under high-emission scenarios, contributing to a global rise in the sea level.

The authors of the report held out hope, however, that rapid action could avert the worst-case scenarios. The co-chair of IPCC Working Group II, Dr Debra Roberts, said that “unprecedented transitions in all aspects of society” were required: “The more decisively and the earlier we act, the more able we will be to address unavoidable changes, manage risks, improve our lives and achieve sustainability for ecosystems and people around the world.”

The report can be downloaded here