The world's glaciers are melting faster than ever recorded under the impact of climate change, according to the most comprehensive scientific analysis to date. Mountain glaciers - frozen rivers of ice – act as a freshwater resource for millions of people worldwide and lock up enough water to raise global sea-levels by 32cm (13in) if they melted entirely.

Leading scientists are warning that the world's glaciers are melting at an unprecedented rate far faster than had ever previously been anticipated.

A University of Arizona researcher co-authored the study that found the rate in which glaciers are melting and contributing to sea-level rise.

A new global assessment shows that the world's glaciers are melting faster in the last 10 years compared to the previous decade. Polar bears, which depend on the frozen sheets, are increasingly under threat.

Scientists believe the melting glaciers have led to sea levels rising by two centimetres in the last 25 years - the fastest ever recorded. They believe that from 2000 to 2023, the world's glaciers have lost more than 6,

Ice loss from the world's glaciers has accelerated over the past decade, scientists said on Wednesday, warning that melting may be faster than previously expected in the coming years and drive sea levels higher.