Glaciers in the Pamir mountains of central Asia lost a record amount of ice last year after decades of stability. Researchers link the sudden melt to prolonged extreme heat across the region.
The Kangxiwa glacier in China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region lost ice equivalent to 1.5 metres of water across its entire surface in 2025. This amount is more than four times the average annual loss recorded between 2011 and 2024. The three-kilometre-long glacier sits at 5350 metres above sea level in the eastern Pamir range.