In 1910, Venezuela had six glaciers covering 1,000 square kilometers, but over time these glaciers shrank and no longer qualified as glaciers. The last remaining glacier, Humboldt Glacier, has now diminished to the point where it is no longer classified as a glacier. This puts Venezuela at the forefront of countries experiencing complete glacier melt in modern times.
Venezuela’s five other glaciers disappeared in 2011, leaving only the Humboldt Glacier in the Sierra Nevada national park. However, even Humboldt Glacier has significantly shrunk in size, with only a small patch of ice remaining. Julio Cesar Centeno, a professor at the University of the Andes, stated that Venezuela no longer has glaciers, just a small fraction of its original icy surface area.
Research conducted over the past few decades shows a dramatic decline in glacier coverage in Venezuela, with a 98% decrease from 1953 to 2019. The rate of ice loss has accelerated since 1998, with a peak of about 17% per year. La Corona, once a 4.5 square kilometer glacier, has now shrunk to less than 0.02 square kilometers.
In an attempt to protect the Humboldt Glacier, the Venezuelan government covered it with geotextile in December of last year. However, this plan was unsuccessful and raised concerns among conservationists about the potential pollution caused by the fabric decomposing into microplastics. Despite efforts to protect the remaining ice, the future of Venezuela’s glaciers remains uncertain.