How can glaciers be growing if the earth is warming up?

Answer 1

The glaciers that are still left on earth are found in high elevations or arctic climates where the temperature is fairly cold year round. Most of the glaciers are receding at a rapid pace however due to global warming occurrences Global warming is also accelerated at the poles, which are also the arctic climates. While we may not notice a 1 degree change in a temperate climate, there may be a 3-5 degree change at the poles which drastically speeds glacial melt. When the top layer of ice and snow on a glacier melts, it forms a pool of water. This pool of water absorbs the suns heat instead of reflecting it like ice and snow does. This accelerates the melting even more, and the water will start to flow through fissures, or small cracks in the glacier. These fissures become large rivers of melt water flowing through the glacier to the solid land mass below. The water then proceeds between the land and ice to the lower elevations. At the poles, and in Greenland this is the sea. This causes the glacier to be able to slide downhill, to the ocean. When this melt-water flows into the ocean and land based glacial ice falls into the ocean, we get sea level rise. There have already been small levels of documented sea level rise, but it is predicted that it could reach 10 feet or more by the end of this century.

Answer 2

Glacial ice growth is a local phenomenon, whereas global warming is world wide. Just because the global temperature average is going up does not mean the temperature cannot decline in any particular area.

However, virtually nowhere are glaciers growing. In the Himalayas glacial ice is not retreating as fast as some had suggested, but half the glaciers there ARE retreating a little bit. Most everywhere else glaciers are retreating quite rapidly. Antarctic ice extent waxes and wanes with the seasons, opposite arctic pack ice. Although Antarctic ice has increased in overall extent, the volume of Antarctic ice has declined. So the total amount of ice continues to be reduced.