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Why are glaciers called permanent rivers of ice eventhough they melt in the summer season or they move forward and melt and form rivers for example Ganges ?

A glacier is called a permanent river of ice because it is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. Some part of the glacier melts during the summer but the entire glacier does not melt. A glacier eventually becomes a river in the lower reaches of mountains but in the the upper reaches, the glacier remains.

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Instead, glacial retreat actually involves the balance of ice accumulation and ice loss. A glacieraccumulates mass as snow builds up and persists through summer melt seasons, eventually compacting and forming new ice. However, a glacieralso loses mass through melting, sublimation, and calving.
Virtually every glacier on earth melts each year during the summer, but as long as winter snow accumulation is equal to or greater than that summer melt, a glacier is considered to be stable or growing. If the glacier melts more in the summer than it grows in the winter however, it retreats.
 
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