Himalayan glaciers melting twice as fast, threatening billions: Report

Kathmandu: Himalayan glaciers, which provide a vital source of fresh water to nearly two billion people, are melting twice as fast as in 2000, a report warned on Saturday.

The Hindu Kush-Himalayan region, which stretches from Afghanistan to Myanmar, contains the largest reserves of ice and snow outside the Arctic and Antarctica and feeds at least 10 major Asian river systems that support water, food and energy security across the continent.

But one-third of this ice is in areas extremely vulnerable to rapid warming.

The average rate of ice loss in the region has nearly doubled since 2000, from about 34 centimeters (13 inches) per year to 73 centimeters per year, according to two studies published by the Kathmandu-based International Center for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD).

“This is not a distant problem, it is a crisis unfolding in real time,” said ICIMOD director general Pema Gyamtsho.

“We must now increase monitoring and invest in adaptation.”
The region has lost up to 27 meters (89 feet) of ice thickness since 1975, with about 12 percent of its glacier area lost between 1990 and 2020, studies said. Rising temperatures mean glaciers “will not be able to regain their mass”, lead author Farooq Azam told AFP.

He called for reducing black carbon emissions created by burning fossil fuels, waste and other materials that accelerate melting.