Read the given passage and answer the four questions that follow:-

It's a tough time to be a glacier. Scientists expected Venezuela's Humboldt Glacier to last another decade, but in 2024 it melted into an ice field, shrinking to under two hectares. This marks the loss of the country's last glacier and signals a grim future for others. Scientists warn that glaciers in countries like Germany and Mexico will also disappear as fossil fuel consumption accelerates global warming. Communities depending on glaciers for fresh water face challenges, as glaciers in mountain ranges like the Andes provide vital drinking and irrigation water for millions of people.

However, about 80% of global glaciers, excluding polar ice sheets, could survive if countries rapidly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Tropical glaciers in regions such as the Andes, East Africa, and Indonesia, however, are unlikely to recover due to higher temperatures. Despite pledges in the 2015 Paris Agreement to limit warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, current projections suggest a rise of 3°C, potentially raising sea levels by nearly 10 feet by 2100, threatening island nations like Fiji and the Maldives with destruction.

A proposal to protect ice sheets in Antarctica and Greenland involves a 62-mile-long removable underwater curtain, but experts like James Kirkham from the International Cryosphere Initiative caution that such measures are distractions from the real issue: halting global heating. Without decisive action, glaciers will continue to melt, and more countries will lose their ice. The urgency of addressing climate change has never been clearer, and the world's glaciers can't afford any more delays.

What does the writer mean by the statement-- 'It's a tough time to be a glacier'?

Glaciers have to bear the brunt of climate change and face an appalling future.

The correct answer is Option (3) → Glaciers have to bear the brunt of climate change and face an appalling future.

The statement "It's a tough time to be a glacier" is an introductory figure of speech (personification) used to set a serious, almost sympathetic tone about the crisis facing glaciers.

The subsequent sentences explain why it's a "tough time":

• Venezuela lost its last glacier (Humboldt) sooner than expected.

• The loss signals a grim future for others.

• Scientists warn that glaciers in Germany and Mexico will also disappear as fossil fuel consumption accelerates global warming.

The phrase summarizes the main point of the paragraph: glaciers are rapidly melting and disappearing due to the pressures of human-induced climate change, facing a dire and challenging existence.

Why the other options are incorrect:
Option 1: While glaciers provide freshwater, the sentence refers to their survival, not their “status.”
Option 2: The passage says 80% could survive if emissions fall, not “only 50%.”
Option 4: Glaciers are not responsible for helping humanity; they are victims of climate change.