Furtwängler Glacier is one of the small remnant ice bodies near the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro (Tanzania). Once part of a much larger ice cap, it now consists of a few isolated ice patches and a small glacier remnant situated above 5,700 m. Its area has shrunk dramatically over the past century.
This glacier is emblematic of rapid tropical ice loss: observational records and photographs show that Kilimanjaro’s ice has declined precipitously due to a combination of reduced precipitation (snow/ice accumulation), sublimation, and increasing temperatures. Projections suggest continued shrinkage and possible disappearance if current climatic trends persist.