The world's glaciers are continuing to melt away with the latest official figures showing record losses, the UN Environment Program (UNEP) said Sunday.

Data from close to 30 reference glaciers in nine mountain ranges indicate that between the years 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 the average rate of melting and thinning more than doubled.

The findings come from the World Glacier Monitoring Service ( WGMS), a center based at the University of Zurich in Switzerland and supported by UNEP.

It has been tracking the fate of glaciers for over a century. Continuous data series of annual mass balance, expressed as thickness change, are available for 30 reference glaciers since 1980.

Wilfried Haeberli, director of the service, said: "The latest figures are part of what appears to be an accelerating trend with no apparent end in sight."

The service calculates thickening and thinning of glaciers in terms of "water equivalent". The estimates for the year 2006 indicate that further shrinking took place equal to around 1.4 meters of water equivalent compared to losses of half a meter in 2005.

"This continues the trend in accelerated ice loss during the past two and a half decades and brings the total loss since 1980 to more than 10.5 meters of water equivalent," said Haberli.

During 1980-1999, average loss rates had been 0.3 meters per year. Since the turn of the millennium, this rate had increased to about half a meter per year.

The record loss during these two decades -- 0.7 meters in 1998 - - has now been exceeded by three out of the past six years: 2003, 2004 and 2006.

On average, one meter water equivalent corresponds to 1.1 meters in ice thickness indicating a further shrinking in 2006 of 1.5 actual meters and since 1980 a total reduction in thickness of ice of just over 11.5 meters.

Achim Steiner, UN under-secretary general and UNEP executive director, said, "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."

"There are many canaries emerging in the climate change coal mine. The glaciers are perhaps among those making the most noise and it is absolutely essential that everyone sits up and takes notice," he said.

"To an important and significant extent that is already happening-indeed the elements of a Green Economy are already emerging from the more than 100 billion U.S. dollars being invested in renewable energies to the responsible investment principles endorsed by 300 financial institutions with 13 trillion dollar-worth of assets," said Steiner.

"The litmus test will come in late 2009 at the climate convention meeting in Copenhagen. Here governments must agree on a decisive new emissions reduction and adaptation-focused regime. Otherwise, and like the glaciers, our room for man oeuvre and the opportunity to act may simply melt away," he added.

The WGMS findings also contain figures from around 100 glaciers, of which 30 form the core assessment, found in Antarctica, Asia, Europe, North America, Latin America and the Pacific.

Some of the most dramatic shrinking has taken place in Europe with Norway's Breidalblikkbrea glacier thinning by close to 3.1 meters (2.9 meter water equivalent) during 2006 compared with a thinning of 0.3 meters (0.28 meters water equivalent) in the year 2005.

Other dramatic shrinking has been registered at Austria's Grosser Goldbergkees glacier, 1.2 meters in 2006 versus 0.3 in 2005; France's Ossoue glacier, nearly 3 meters versus around 2.7 meters in 2005; Italy's Malavalle glacier 1.4 meters versus around 0.9 meters in 2005; Spain's Maladeta glacier, nearly 2 meters versus 1.6 meters in 2005; Sweden's Storglaciaeren glacier, 1.8 meters versus close to 0.080 meters in 2005 and Switzerland's Findelen glacier, 1.3 meters versus 0.22 meters in 2005.

Not all of the close to 100 glaciers monitored posted losses with some thickening during the same period including Chile's Echaurren Norte glacier while others, such as Bolivia's Chacaltaya glacier; Canada's Place glacier; India's Hamtah glacier and the Daniels and Yawning glaciers in the Untied States shrank less in 2006 than they did in 2005.

However, for the close to 30 reference glaciers only one ( Echaurren Norte in Chile) thickened over the same period.

(Xinhua News Agency March 16, 2008)