Some glaciers in Europe have suffered significant losses. (AAP)
The rate at which some of the world's glaciers are melting has more than doubled, data from the United Nations Environment Programme have shown.
The UN called for immediate action to prevent further constraints on water resources for large populations.
"Millions if not billions of people depend directly or indirectly on these natural water storage facilities for drinking water, agriculture, industry and power generation during key parts of the year," said Achim Steiner, executive director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).
The culprit is climate change, according to data from the World Glacier Monitoring Service (WGMS), based at the University of Zurich and supported by UNEP.
The centre drew its findings from nearly 30 glaciers in nine mountain ranges revealing that in 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 the average rate of melting more than doubled.
clipped from: news.sbs.com.au 