Melting Glaciers, Vanishing Rainforests: Sounds of Climate Change Captured

In October 2025, scientists and researchers presented a unique audio installation called "Sounds of Climate Change" at the Climate Forward conference. The installation offered a sonic tour of three rapidly changing environments: the underwater Arctic, a melting glacier in Switzerland, and the Amazon rainforest.

The recordings reveal how climate change is transforming the planet's natural soundscapes. In the Arctic, bioacoustician Kate Stafford has documented how the shrinking sea ice is disrupting animal migration patterns and introducing new predators, leading to a louder and stormier underwater environment. Meanwhile, sound artist Ludwig Berger has captured the eerie sounds of ancient air bubbles being released from the retreating Morteratsch Glacier in Switzerland, with many of the recorded locations now gone as the ice has melted.

Across the globe in the Amazon, field recordist Izabela Dluzyk has documented the delicate balance of the rainforest soundscape, which is now threatened by severe droughts. The recordings capture the thunderous ritual of macaws gathering to eat essential sodium-rich soil, a ritual that could be disrupted as the rainforest transforms into grassland.

These recordings offer a powerful and immersive way to experience the impacts of climate change, moving beyond the abstract numbers and statistics. As the planet continues to warm, these natural soundscapes are rapidly changing, and scientists are racing to capture them before they disappear forever.