The mass of glacier can be an indicator of a change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns when that change lasts for an extended period of time which is known as climate change.
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 .	climatic	climate	precipitation	precipitation (meteorology)	mean temperature	temperature	cloud cover	cloud cover	climate change	climate change	sea level	Current sea level rise
