The world's glaciers melted at dramatic speed last year and saving them is effectively a lost cause, says the head of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), as the agency publishes its annual global climate report. Speaking during an interview with AFP, Petteri Taalas warns that the melting of glaciers is "contributing to sea level rise", adding that "we have seen doubling of the sea level rise during the past 20 years". The last eight years have been the warmest ever recorded, while concentrations of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide hit new peaks, the WMO said. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES