Query: While there are isolated cases of growing glaciers, the overwhelming trend in glaciers worldwide is retreat.

Relevant passages:
Himalayas <=SEP=> The Himalayas , or Himalaya , ( -LSB- ˌhɪməˈleɪ.ə -RSB- or -LSB- hɪˈmɑːləjə -RSB- ) form a mountain range in Asia separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau .   The Himalayan range has many of the Earth 's highest peaks , including the highest , Mount Everest . The Himalayas include over fifty mountains exceeding 7200 m in elevation , including ten of the fourteen 8000m peaks . By contrast , the highest peak outside Asia -- Aconcagua , in the Andes -- is 6961 m tall .   The Himalayan range is bordered on the northwest by the Karakoram and Hindu Kush ranges , on the north by the Tibetan Plateau , and on the south by the Indo-Gangetic Plain . The Himalayas are distinct from the other great ranges of central Asia , although sometimes the term Himalaya is loosely used to include the Karakoram and some of the other ranges . The Himalayas are spread across five countries : Nepal , India , Bhutan , China and Pakistan , with the first three countries having sovereignty over most of the range . Some of the world 's major rivers , the Indus , the Ganges , and the Tsangpo-Brahmaputra , rise in the Himalayas , and their combined drainage basin is home to roughly 600 million people . The Himalayas have profoundly shaped the cultures of South Asia ; many Himalayan peaks are sacred in Hinduism and Buddhism .   Lifted by the subduction of the Indian tectonic plate under the Eurasian Plate , the Himalayan Mountain range runs , west-northwest to east-southeast , in an arc 2400 km long . Its western anchor , Nanga Parbat , lies just south of the northernmost bend of Indus river . Its eastern anchor , Namcha Barwa , is just west of the great bend of the Tsangpo river . The range varies in width from 400 km in the west to 150 km in the east .

Glacier <=SEP=> A glacier ( -LSB- pronˈɡleɪʃər -RSB- or -LSB- ˈɡlæsiə -RSB- ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight ; it forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation ( melting and sublimation ) over many years , often centuries . Glaciers slowly deform and flow due to stresses induced by their weight , creating crevasses , seracs , and other distinguishing features . They also abrade rock and debris from their substrate to create landforms such as cirques and moraines . Glaciers form only on land and are distinct from the much thinner sea ice and lake ice that form on the surface of bodies of water .   On Earth , 99 % of glacial ice is contained within vast ice sheets in the polar regions , but glaciers may be found in mountain ranges on every continent except Australia , and on a few high-latitude oceanic islands . Between 35 ° N and 35 ° S , glaciers occur only in the Himalayas , Andes , Rocky Mountains , a few high mountains in East Africa , Mexico , New Guinea and on Zard Kuh in Iran . Glaciers cover about 10 percent of Earth 's land surface . Continental glaciers cover nearly 5 e6sqmi or about 98 percent of Antarctica 's 5.1 e6sqmi , with an average thickness of 7,000 ft. Greenland and Patagonia also have huge expanses of continental glaciers .   Glacial ice is the largest reservoir of fresh water on Earth . Many glaciers from temperate , alpine and seasonal polar climates store water as ice during the colder seasons and release it later in the form of meltwater as warmer summer temperatures cause the glacier to melt , creating a water source that is especially important for plants , animals and human uses when other sources may be scant . Within high altitude and Antarctic environments , the seasonal temperature difference is often not sufficient to release meltwater .   Because glacial mass is affected by long-term climatic changes , e.g. , precipitation , mean temperature , and cloud cover , glacial mass changes are considered among the most sensitive indicators of climate change and are a major source of variations in sea level .   A large piece of compressed ice , or a glacier , appears blue as large quantities of water appear blue . This is because water molecules absorb other colors more efficiently than blue . The other reason for the blue color of glaciers is the lack of air bubbles . Air bubbles , which give a white color to ice , are squeezed out by pressure increasing the density of the created ice .

Subantarctic <=SEP=> The Subantarctic is a region in the southern hemisphere , located immediately north of the Antarctic region . This translates roughly to a latitude of between 46 ° -- 60 ° south of the Equator . The subantarctic region includes many islands in the southern parts of the Indian Ocean , Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean , especially those situated north of the Antarctic Convergence . Subantarctic glaciers are , by definition , located on islands within the subantarctic region . All glaciers located on the continent of Antarctica are by definition considered to be Antarctic glaciers .

Holocene glacial retreat <=SEP=> Holocene glacial retreat had a profound effect on landscapes in many areas that were covered by ice at the Last Glacial Maximum .