Glaciers are melting because the Earth is getting warmer!
Here's a simple explanation:
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The Earth is Getting Warmer: Think of Earth like a giant ball with a blanket around it. This blanket, made of gases, traps some of the sun's heat. But, humans are adding extra gases to the blanket, mostly from burning things like gasoline in cars or coal in power plants. This makes the blanket thicker, so it traps more heat, and the Earth gets warmer. This is often called climate change or global warming.
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Ice Doesn't Like Warmth: Glaciers are like giant ice cubes. When the air and water around them get warmer, they start to melt. It's the same as if you left an ice cube out on a warm day – it turns into water!
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Less Snow, More Rain: In places where glaciers form, it's usually very cold and snowy. But as the Earth warms, these places might get less snow and more rain. This means the glaciers aren't getting enough new snow to replace the ice that melts, and they shrink.
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What Happens When Glaciers Melt?: The water from melting glaciers flows into the oceans, and this makes the sea level rise. This can cause problems for people who live near the coast. It also affects animals that live in cold places.
So, the main reason glaciers are melting is because the planet is getting warmer, mostly because of things people are doing.
