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Three B.C. glaciers face extinction within decades due to climate change, study says

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Cite

Chiang, C. (2026, September 24). Three B.C. glaciers face extinction within decades due to climate change, study says. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/british-columbia/three-b-c-glaciers-face-extinction-within-decades-due-to-climate-change-study-says/article_1adef725-36f2-52b3-bad1-95f412c7c940.html

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Toronto Star · collected 2026-09-24 · by Chuck Chiang

Quick Summary

A study from Simon Fraser University published in Annals of Glaciology reports that three glaciers in British Columbia’s southwest could disappear completely within decades due to climate change. The Whistler Glacier, which has shrunk by 95% over five decades, is expected to vanish within the next ten years, while the Horstman and Blackcomb glaciers will likely melt down between three and seven decades from now. Lead researcher Chloé Monty emphasizes that although these specific glaciers cannot be saved, reducing carbon emissions could prevent further loss of larger glaciers in Canada and globally.
Written by AI on 2026-09-24, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

A new study published in the journal Annals of Glaciology by researchers at Simon Fraser University reveals that three glaciers in southwest British Columbia could disappear completely within decades due to climate change. The Whistler Glacier, which has already shrunk by 95% over the past five decades, is expected to vanish within the next 10 years. Similarly, the Horstman and Blackcomb glaciers have lost up to 75% of their area and are predicted to melt down between three and seven decades from now. Lead researcher Chloé Monty notes that while these specific glaciers cannot be saved due to irreversible damage, reducing carbon emissions could help protect larger glaciers in British Columbia and globally.

Written for “Glacier Extinction Bc Climate Change” on 2026-11-04, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Glacier Extinction Bc Climate Change
Environment · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

Nothing to compare against. No article is close enough to this one for the pipeline to have linked or judged the pair.
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
21
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
19%
4 of 21 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
64/100
Toronto Star's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Environment
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-24 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Toronto Star · 11614 article(s) · 28 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 28 correction(s)
2026-10-26
Correction
2026-10-24
Correction
2026-10-07
Correction
2026-09-24
Correction

Who wrote this

Chuck Chiang
4 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Three glaciers in British Columbia’s southwest could “disappear completely” within decades in what a researcher says is the result of years of inaction on climate change.
Also by Chuck Chiang
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

Topics

Annals of Glaciology B.C. British Columbia’s Canada Simon Fraser University

Subjects

Monty PERSON · 5× B.C. GPE · 3× Canada GPE · 2× Annals of Glaciology ORG · 1× British Columbia’s GPE · 1× Chloé Monty PERSON · 1× SFU ORG · 1× Simon Fraser University ORG · 1× The Canadian Press ORG · 1× Whistler Blackcomb ORG · 1×

Narrative

“But it doesn’t mean that there aren’t things that we can do to reduce our carbon emissions now that would help prevent the loss of bigger glaciers and the losses also to the ice sheets that would contribute probably more significantly to sea level rise.”
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-24
🔮 Three glaciers in British Columbia’s southwest could “disappear completely” within decades in what a researcher says is the result of years of inaction on climate change.

Claims (21 extracted, 4 hedged)

Three glaciers in British Columbia’s southwest could “disappear completely” within decades in what a researcher says is the result of years of inaction on climate change. uncertain
researcher → disappear → change
A new study from Simon Fraser University published in the journal Annals of Glaciology says the Whistler Glacier is in the most dire condition and could disappear within the next 10 years. uncertain
Glacier → publish → years
That glacier has shrunk by 95 per cent in the last five decades, while the Horstman and Blackcomb glaciers have lost up to 75 per cent of their area over the same period and will melt down between three and seven decades. asserted
glaciers → shrink → period
Lead researcher Chloé Monty says glaciers have been retreating globally due to climate change, but it was still shocking to see the extent of the shrinkage seen in the three B.C. glaciers based on image comparisons. asserted
it → say → comparisons
She says there’s nothing that can be done to save those glaciers from extinction but it’s not too late to prevent the larger glaciers in B.C. and Canada from disappearing. asserted
it → say → B.C.
Monty says a reduction in carbon emissions would prevent the larger glaciers from shrinking in Canada and around the world. asserted
reduction → say → world
“Glaciers respond slowly to climate, so the changes that we’re seeing now are reflecting the changes to the climate that have happened in the last several decades,” Monty says. asserted
Monty → respond → decades
Glaciers are measured by coverage area to determine if they still meet thresholds to continue to qualify as a glacier, and the SFU research shows the Whistler Glacier has already shrunk to the point that it fractured into three smaller ice masses. asserted
it → measure → masses
Once glaciers fall below the thresholds they could instead be classified as “ice patches,” although experts are still debating the terminology used to describe former glaciers. uncertain
experts → fall → glaciers
Monty says that, by some definitions, Whistler Glacier has already disappeared. asserted
Glacier → say → definitions
“Technically Whistler Glacier is a relict glacier,” she says. asserted
she → say → ?
“Has it disappeared? asserted
it → disappear → ?
That depends on your definition. asserted
That → depend → definition
“The question is really, when will it get to zero ice?” asserted
it → get → ice
Glaciers have been popular summer skiing locations and both the Whistler and Horstman glaciers have hosted summer ski camps in the past. asserted
glaciers → host → past
Whistler Blackcomb ski resort suspended summer skiing indefinitely on the Horstman Glacier last year after beginning in the 1980s, while summer skiing activities stopped on Whistler Glacier in the late 1990s. asserted
activities → suspend → 1990s
Monty says resorts are doing the right thing for business by developing other summer activities such as mountain biking to compensate for the loss of skiing and the tourism industry needs to adapt too. asserted
industry → say → skiing
The larger challenge — taking steps to mitigate climate change to preventing larger losses — is still something that can be tackled, and Monty says the study on the B.C. glaciers should provide a warning of what could happen if no steps are taken. uncertain
steps → take → warning
“This is definitely a very sad story,” she says. asserted
she → say → ?
“But it doesn’t mean that there aren’t things that we can do to reduce our carbon emissions now that would help prevent the loss of bigger glaciers and the losses also to the ice sheets that would contribute probably more significantly to sea level rise.” asserted
that → mean → rise
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 23, 2026. asserted
report → publish → Press
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