International Mountain Day 2025

About

As of 2003, International Mountain Day has been observed every year on 11 December to create awareness about the importance of mountains to life, to highlight the opportunities and constraints in mountain development and to build alliances that will bring positive change to mountain peoples and environments around the world. #MountainsMatter

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is the coordinating agency for the preparation and animation of this celebration and is mandated to lead observance of it at the global level.

2025 Theme: Glaciers matter for water, food and livelihoods in mountains and beyond

International Mountain Day 2025 is an opportunity to highlight the importance of glacier preservation for agriculture, water security and the livelihoods of vulnerable mountain communities.

Glaciers, vast reserves of ice and snow found across the planet, are far more than frozen landscapes – they are lifelines for ecosystems and communities. Yet, these critical components of the Earth’s systems are undergoing rapid and alarming transformations with profound consequences for us all.

The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 2025 as the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation to raise awareness on the vital role glaciers, snow and ice play in the climate system and water cycle, as well as the far-reaching impacts of rapid glacial melt. It aims to promote global collaboration, strengthen scientific research, and promote policies and actions to protect glaciers and cryospheric systems.

Glaciers and ice sheets hold around 70 percent of the world’s freshwater. Their accelerated melting represents not only an environmental crisis, but a humanitarian one, threatening agriculture, clean energy, water security and billions of peoples’ lives. Their retreat, driven by rising global temperatures, is a stark indicator of the climate crisis. Melting glaciers and thawing permafrost increase risks such as floods, glacier lake outburst floods, landslides or enhanced erosion and sediment, endangering downstream populations and critical infrastructure.

Economically, sectors like agriculture, hydropower, mountain tourism and transportation feel the strain of glacier changes. For many Indigenous Peoples, glaciers are sacred, and their disappearance signifies a loss of identity and connection to nature.

IMD 2025 is a contribution to the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation 2025, supporting efforts to underscore the critical role mountain regions play as a key source of global freshwater and ecosystem services.

Events

Mountains and the Environment

Covering around 27% of the earth’s land surface and home to 15% of the world’s population, mountains are essential for human lives and livelihoods. Mountains regions provide freshwater, energy and food – resources that will be increasingly scarce in coming decades. Mountains also host about half of the world’s biodiversity hotspots. However, mountains are under threat from climate change and overexploitation. Learn more about the role of mountains for sustainable development and the environmental challenges faced by these regions (including glaciers melting and plastic pollution) below.

Learning

Resources and News

• Trends in Climate Adaptation Solutions for Mountain Regions | Mountain Research Initiative | 24 November 2024
• State of the Cryosphere 2024 – Lost Ice, Global Damage | International Cryosphere Climate Initiative | 12 November 2024
• Leave no mountain behind: the synthesis series – Migration, mobility and immobility in the mountains | Adaptation at Altitude | 16 July 2024