Jemma Wadham tells the story of glaciers, wilderness and people at a moment when their relationship is about to change forever.

As one of the world’s leading glaciologists, Wadham – Professor of Glaciology at the University of Bristol and Director of the Cabot Institute for the Environment – has devoted her career to the glaciers that cover one-tenth of the Earth’s land surface. Today, however, these ‘ice rivers’ are in peril. High up in the Alps, Andes and Himalaya, once-indomitable glaciers are retreating; in Antarctica, meanwhile, thinning ice sheets are releasing meltwater to sensitive marine food webs, and may be unlocking vast quantities of methane stored deep beneath them. The potential consequences for humanity are almost unfathomable.

Prompted by an illness that took her to the brink of death and back, Wadham now recalls 25 years of expeditions around the globe, revealing why the glaciers mean so much to her – and what they should mean to us. She offers an eye-witness account from the frontline of the climate crisis, and an impassioned love letter to the glaciers that are her obsession.

Jemma Wadham’s Ice Rivers is published by Allen Lane. Buy a copy from Waterstones our bookselling partners.

In association with University of Bristol and Cabot Institute for the Environment.

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Festival of Ideas: Jemma Wadham, Why Are Glaciers so Important?