In October 2006, a study using data from NASA’s Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellites discussed the condition of the Greenland Ice Sheet. The study determined that, although the ice sheet had gained some mass in the interior, it had lost considerably more mass along the perimeter, particularly southeastern Greenland.
Because Indian glaciers have not been studied in detail for the past several decades, assessing their long-term trends has been difficult. More recent studies, however, suggest they are vulnerable to rising temperatures, which increased by 2.2 degrees Celsius (3.96 degrees Fahrenheit) between the 1980s and the new millennium.
Currently 30.2 km long and between 0.5 and 2.5 km wide, Gangotri glacier is one of the largest in the Himalaya. Gangotri has been receding since 1780, although studies show its retreat quickened after 1971.