March 21st is the first World Glacier Day. Yao Tandong, an academician of the CAS Member who participated in the Glacier Day activities in France, said in an exclusive interview with the Xinhua News Agency on the 21st that the "Third Pole Environment" international plan has been endorsed as a flagship project by UNESCO, and has achieved international leadership in science, team and other aspects. The picture is taken on September 2, 2024, on the Puruogangri Ice Field. The Puruogangri Ice Sheet is a typical representative of plateau glaciers in the world, the largest ice sheet in mid to low latitudes, and the thickest ice sheet on the Qinghai Tibet Plateau (drone stitched photo). Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Jiang Fan: Apart from Antarctica and the Arctic, the Qinghai Tibet Plateau and its surrounding areas are the world's largest glacier distribution area and the "third pole" on Earth. The over 100000 glaciers in this region nurture more than ten major rivers in the vast Asian continent, hence it is known as the "Water Tower of Asia". The total area of the Asian water tower basin exceeds 10 million square kilometers, directly affecting the water use of about 2 billion people. In 2009, Yao Tandong and some world-renowned scientists jointly launched the "Third Pole Environment" international program, which focuses on cryosphere science research and expands interdisciplinary exchanges and cooperation in the field of Earth system science. In response to the scientific challenges related to glacier melting in the Himalayan region, global cooperation has been strengthened, and important achievements have been made. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the World Meteorological Organization jointly led activities such as World Glacier Day, the International Year of Glacier Conservation 2025, and the Decade of Action for Cryospheric Science (2025-2034). Brainstorming sessions, roundtables, and parallel forums were held at UNESCO headquarters in Paris from the 20th to the 21st to promote scientific understanding and propose solutions. Yao Tandong, as the only Chinese expert on the International Year of Glacier Conservation Advisory Committee, engages in international dialogue on the current status of glaciers worldwide and their impact on global water security, ecosystems, and society, and proposes scientific solutions and recommendations. Yao Tandong said in an interview that the "Third Pole Environment" has the first scientific leading role internationally. Not only have we achieved a series of world-class original results in the changes and impacts of water towers in Asia, carbon sink functions and potential, ecosystem and biodiversity changes, but we have also released the "Third Pole Environmental Science Assessment Report" on the United Nations Environment Programme platform, which has had a significant impact internationally. This plan also achieved the role of team leadership. It has gathered a team of top scientists from around the world and cultivated a backbone of neighboring developing countries. The Third Pole International Conference on Environmental Science, held in Chongqing in November 2023, promoted the international alliance of research on the Qinghai Tibet Plateau Yao Tandong said. This is the Rongbuk Glacier on the east side of Mount Everest in Shigatse city, captured on May 22, 2020. In 2017, Yao Tandong, as the team leader, led China's second comprehensive scientific expedition to the Qinghai Tibet Plateau to explore the infinite mysteries of the snowy plateau at the Third Pole. Yao Tandong said that this scientific expedition has achieved numerous scientific achievements of global significance. Based on the latest high-resolution remote sensing images, the Asian water tower glacier catalog was completed through manual visual interpretation combined with machine learning; Under the influence of climate change, the overall melting of the Asian water tower glaciers is accelerating; Glacier melting will cause a turning point in glacier meltwater runoff, which will have a serious impact on water resources in the arid northwest region of China; The melting of glaciers leads to frequent cryosphere disasters such as ice avalanches and glacial lake outburst floods; The melting of glaciers exacerbates the risk of lake overflow, which has significant impacts on surrounding residents, infrastructure, major projects, ecosystems, and biodiversity. When it comes to the future research and protection work of the Third Pole, Yao Tandong believes that "the coverage of the glacier observation system needs to be expanded, the monitoring and early warning system for glacier disasters needs to be improved, the technical means for glacier protection need to be strengthened, and the artificial intelligence observation and simulation of glaciers need to be deeply integrated. In addition, financial support and international cooperation are also needed