Himalayan Glaciers: A terrible flood is coming! Himalayan glaciers are melting fast

 Himalayan Glaciers: A terrible flood is coming! Himalayan glaciers are melting fast

Himalayan glaciers are melting fast

Himalayan Glaciers: Now the Himalayas are also experiencing the impact of global warming. According to ICIMOD, the rate at which the Himalayan glaciers are melting suggests that within this century, 80 percent of the glacier mass could vanish.

The Himalayan glaciers are melting at a rate of over 65 percent faster than before due to the effects of climate change. Scientists are concerned about the significant loss that could occur as a result. These glaciers are the source of water for approximately 200 million people in Asia. A study conducted by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development in Kathmandu reveals that the Himalayan glaciers have lost more than 65 percent of their mass between 2011 and 2020 compared to the previous decade. If this trend continues, 80 percent of the glacier mass in the Himalayas could disappear within the coming decades.

A previous study indicated that if global temperatures rise by 2 degrees Celsius as per the 2015 Paris Agreement, almost half of the Himalayan glaciers could be lost within the next 2,100 years. Even if the target of limiting global temperature rises to 1.5 degrees Celsius before the industrial era is reached, the loss would still be around 36 percent of the glacier mass. The damage is significant.

The Himalayan glaciers are the source of water for around 240 million people in the Hindu Kush Himalayas region. Additionally, approximately 165 million people depend on the water resources of the Himalayas for their livelihood in downstream areas, including the plains.

The Ganges, Indus, Brahmaputra, Yangtze, Mekong, and Irrawaddy rivers, along with ten other major and important rivers of the world, receive their water from the Himalayan glaciers. The Himalayas provide billions of people with food, clean energy, and pollution-free air. The livelihoods of a vast population also rely on the Himalayas for various resources.

According to environmental scientist Filipus Wester from ICIMOD, it is natural for glaciers to melt with rising temperatures. However, they are melting at an abnormal and accelerated rate. The speed at which they are melting exceeds our expectations.