September 25, 2025
These two satellite images taken on September 5, 1985 and September 17, 2025 show the significant retreat of the Jakobshavn Glacier (Sermeq Kujalle), on the west coast of Greenland.
The glacier’s calving front can be seen in the centre of the image from 1985, whereas comparatively in the image from 2025, the front has retreated inland to the far right of the image.
Jakobshavn is known as Greenland’s fastest retreating glacier. In the last decade it has created more icebergs than any other northern glacier, and it has been one of Greenland’s largest contributors to sea level rise, according to NASA.
Glacial studies have revealed it was flowing at its fastest and losing the most ice in 2012–13 but began thickening again in 2017 due to temporary cooling of ocean temperatures in the region. Despite these oscillations related to ocean water and air temperatures, snowfall and cyclical melt events, the overall trends show the glacier is retreating, melting and thinning at a concerning rate. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory calculated Jakobshavn lost an estimated 88 billion metric tons of ice in the period between 1985 and 2022. The Jakobshavn glacier alone could contribute more to sea level rise than any other ice mass in the Northern Hemisphere, according to NASA.
Global warming is driving the rapid melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet, which in turn contributes to rising sea levels and increases the amount of fresh water in the ocean which can impact global currents.
CREDITS:
1985: NASA USGS Landsat 5
2025: Copernicus Sentinel data 2025
MAP:
