The First to be Glacier Officially Declared DEAD—And It’s Only the Beginning!

Satellite images spanning over three decades reveal the disappearance of Okjökull, the first glacier to be officially declared dead as a result of human-caused climate change. The shocking transformation, captured from space, serves as a dire warning of what may come for thousands of glaciers around the world.

A Glacier Erased From History

Nestled atop Ok volcano in Iceland, Okjökull was once a thriving ice mass covering an area of 15 square miles (39 square kilometers) in the early 20th century. However, by 1986, it had shrunk to just 2.6 square kilometers. When NASA’s Landsat 8 satellite captured images in 2019, the glacier had dwindled to an area of less than 1 square kilometer, marking the complete loss of its identity as a ice mass.

Okjökull’s official death was declared in 2014, when glaciologists confirmed that the ice had become so thin it was no longer moving. For the first time in tens of thousands of years, Okjökull had stopped flowing, sealing its fate as a victim of climate change.

A Farewell To Ice

The loss of Okjökull was not just a scientific event; it was a moment of collective mourning. In August 2019, around 100 people, including scientists and politicians, gathered at the site for a glacial funeral. A commemorative plaque, titled A Letter to the Future, was placed near the summit of Ok volcano.

 “Ok is the first Icelandic glacier to lose its status as a glacier. In the next 200 years all our glaciers are expected to follow the same path. This monument is to acknowledge that we know what is happening and what needs to be done. Only you know if we did it.”

The inscription also records the atmospheric CO₂ concentration at the time: 415 parts per million (ppm). Today, that number has risen beyond 428 ppm, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

A Visual Warning From Space

NASA’s Earth Observatory released a striking set of before-and-after images showing the glacier’s demise. The 1986 image, taken by Landsat 5, shows a thick, vibrant ice sheet at the volcano’s summit. In contrast, the 2019 image from Landsat 8 reveals an almost barren landscape, with only small patches of remaining ice.

The dramatic disappearance of Okjökull highlights the accelerating impact of global warming on Earth’s frozen landscapes. Scientists warn that Iceland’s 400+ glaciers are at risk of following the same trajectory if global temperatures continue to rise.

A Growing List Of Casualties

Okjökull is not alone. In 2023, Iceland opened the world’s first iceberg graveyard, honoring the 15 majorlisted on the Global Glacier Casualty List—a record of icebergs that are either dead or critically endangered.

Elsewhere in the world, ice sheets continue to vanish. The Anderson Glacier in Washington State was the first U.S. glacier to be declared dead in 2015. Scientists estimate that up to 10,000 glaciers of various sizes may have already been lost due to climate change.