Himalayan glaciers melt speedily; 75% of snow may get wiped out by 2100

A team of international scientists has found that ice loss in the Himalayas, home to the famous peaks of Everest and K2 is speeding up.

According to International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), during the 2010s, the glaciers shed ice as much as 65% faster than they had in the preceding decade.

The Hindu Kush Himalaya stretches 3,500 km (2,175 miles) across Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan.

At 2C of warming above preindustrial temperatures, glaciers across the entire region will lose 30% to 50% of their volume by 2100. At 3C of warming, glaciers in the Eastern Himalayas, which includes Nepal and Bhutan, will lose up to 75% of their ice. At 4C of warming, that ticks up to 80%.

With this report comes grave concern for the people living in the Hindu Kush Himalaya.

The report found water flows in the region’s 12 river basins, including the Ganges, Indus, and Mekong, are likely to peak around mid-century, with consequences for the more than 1.6 billion people who depend on this supply.

Many high mountain communities use glacial water and snowmelt to irrigate crops. But the timing of when snow falls has become more erratic, and there’s less than there used to be.

“We’ve had … huge numbers of yak deaths because during summer they go to higher pastures,” said report co-author Amina Maharjan. If the snow falls too soon, “the entire area is covered in snow and they don’t have grass to graze”.

People are now moving away from mountain communities to earn income elsewhere, she said.

Melting glaciers also pose a danger to downstream communities. Runoff pools in shallow lakes, held back by rocks and debris. The risk comes when a lake overfills, bursting through its natural barrier and sending a torrent of water rushing down mountain valleys.

Updated: 20 Jun 2023, 06:37 AM IST