By — William Brangham William Brangham By — Claire Mufson Claire Mufson By — Madison Staten Madison Staten By — Satvi Sunkara Satvi Sunkara By — Juliet Fuisz Juliet Fuisz By — Alexa Gold Alexa Gold By — Zoie Lambert Zoie Lambert Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/video/horizons/2026/01/why-earths-melting-glaciers-matter-more-than-we-think Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Story Ice in the Arctic and Antarctica plays a critical role in maintaining life on Earth, and it is melting faster than previously thought. This is threatening our planet with potentially massive sea-level rise, weather disruptions and further global warming. Horizons moderator William Brangham explores the fate of ice on Earth with science correspondent Miles O'Brien and glaciologist Erin Pettit. By — William Brangham William Brangham William Brangham is an award-winning correspondent, producer, and substitute anchor for the PBS News Hour. He also serves as the moderator of Horizons with PBS News. @WmBrangham By — Claire Mufson Claire Mufson Claire Mufson is a journalist and general assignment producer at PBS News Weekend. She produces stories on a wide range of topics including breaking news, health care, culture, disability and the environment. Before joining PBS News, she worked in Paris for French public broadcasting channel France 24 and for The New York Times. By — Madison Staten Madison Staten By — Satvi Sunkara Satvi Sunkara Satvi Sunkara is an associate producer for PBS News Weekend. By — Juliet Fuisz Juliet Fuisz By — Alexa Gold Alexa Gold By — Zoie Lambert Zoie Lambert Zoie Lambert is a production assistant for PBS News Weekend.