Scientists at Leeds University, Edinburgh University, and University College London analysed satellite images to find the stunning conclusion, published in The Cryosphere journal.
They laid the blame at humanity's feet, writing: "There can be little doubt that the vast majority of Earth's ice loss is a direct consequence of climate warming."
One of the researchers, Professor Andy Shepherd, told The Guardian that "in the past researchers have studied individual areas - such as the Antarctic or Greenland - where ice is melting.
"But this is the first time anyone has looked at all the ice that is disappearing from the entire planet," said Shepherd, who runs Leeds University's Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling.
"What we have found has stunned us."
