The accelerating melting of the Himalayan glaciers threatens the water supply of millions of people in Asia, new research warns. "Undoubtedly the primary driver is a rapidly changing climate, and the Himalayan glaciers don't seem to be able to adjust fast enough to keep up with the climate changes," said Jonathan Carrivick, a University of Leeds glaciologist and a co-author of the study. The glaciers are a critical source of water for about 250 million people in the mountains and an additional 1.65 billion who live in the river valleys below, according to a report in 2019. These rivers . This is the first comprehensive look at whats happened to glaciers in the Himalaya over a 40-year time span, said lead author Joshua Maurer at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. [email protected], Caroline Adelman Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inbox. Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes, and Market Data and Analysis. Ice loss in the Himalayas resembles the far more closely studied European Alps, where temperatures started going up somewhat earlier,in the 1980s. Increased glacial melting would disturb this even distribution sustaining a large population until now. The Himalayan Mountains are home to the highest peak in Mount Everest at 29,029 feet, but also to the third largest deposit of ice and snow in the world, after Antarctica and the Arctic. Glaciers appear on almost every continent. However, melting of glaciers does increase the risks related to glacier hazards. The researchers noted that some 800 million people depend in part on seasonal runoff from Himalayan glaciers for irrigation, hydropower and drinking water. Sikkum contains Kangchenjunga, the third highest peak on Earth and one of the mountains examined in the study. RAPID MELTING OF HIMALAYAN GLACIERS #diplomacy #diplomatie #geopolitics #foreignpolicy #foreignaffairs [BROUGHT TO YOU BY - ForeignPolicyWatchdog.com, LIKE / SHARE / FOLLOW US TO RECEIVE LATEST. The melting of Himalayan glaciers has doubled since the turn of the century, with more than a quarter of all ice lost over the last four decades, scientists have revealed. As glaciers melt in the Himalayas, such flooding may worsen. Running 2,000 kilometres from east to west, the Hindu Kush-Karakoram-Himalaya (HKKH) region contains an estimated 60,000 square kilometres of glacier and surface ice, often called the 'Third Pole'. Shrinking Himalayan glaciers spell trouble downstream | Researchers strive to better understand melting glaciers on Asian mountain peaks, the Earth's 'Third Pole,' in light of devastating floods and water supply problems. Glacier melting, in some measure, affects the snowfall. Various Indian institutes, organizations and universities are monitoring the Himalayan glaciers using remote sensing data at large scale to assess the calamities associated with the melting. https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2019/02/05/691578203/report-global-warming-could-melt-at-least-a-third-of-himalayan-glaciers This is sad for a Human being and environment. They matched. Much of it is covered by rocky debris. The paper, which . Maurer and his colleagues analyzed repeat satellite images of some 650 glaciers spanning 2,000 kilometers from west to east. Water originating from their snow, glaciers and rainfall feed the ten largest river systems in Asia. Reasons behind fast melting of glaciers: Here's what you need to know. 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In May 2012, one such flood killed over 60 people in villages near Pokhara, Nepal; it also destroyed houses and infrastructure. Department of Science and Technology (DST) has supported various R&D projects for studying Himalayan Glaciers under the National Mission for Sustaining Himalayan Ecosystem (NMSHE) and National Mission on Strategic Knowledge for Climate Change (NMSKCC). Numerous small glaciers located in the low altitude region of the Satluj basin indicate significant loss in the area till the middle of the century, creating a scarcity of water during the dry summer season. But up to now, observations have been somewhat fragmented, zeroing in on shorter time periods, or only individual glaciers or certain regions. (2 minutes) Glaciers across the Himalayas are melting at an extraordinary rate, with new research showing that the vast ice sheets there . The peak of Mt. This, they say, will eventually lead to water shortages. However, glaciers in the Karakoram region have shown comparatively minor length change (-1.37 22.8 m/a), indicating the stable conditions. But in the mountainous Karakoram region of Asia home to K2, the second-highest peak on Earth the glaciers . This is because meltwater from the glaciers in the region feeds major rivers that support India's vast . Dust, climate change and air pollution are triple threat to water source for a billion people. The mass balance studies conducted for some Himalayan glaciers by University of Kashmir, Sikkim University, IISc and WIHG, revealed that majority of Himalayan glaciers are melting or retreating at varying rates. The time shift started as a way to maximize limited daylight hours, but its benefits are debatable. Unauthorized use is prohibited. The fact that glaciers in the Himalayan mountains are thinning is not disputed. The signal showing Himalayan ice loss linked to rising temperatures would not be so clear if it werent for the U.S. spy satellitesKH-9 Hexagon military satellites from 1973 to 1980 to be precisethat photographed the region. Similarly, several studies have concluded that glaciers across the Himalayas are melting at an extraordinary rate, faster than anywhere on the globe. Glacial melting has accelerated over . It is believed that the increased melting of Himalayan glaciers will bring on flooding disasters for the next few decades, and what would happen after this is the Ganga and the Indus flowing with radically reduced pace resulting in acute water stress, mass migration, and unseen conflicts. As much as quarter of the regions ice has been lost over the last 40 years, he estimated. Around 1.9 billion people across the South Asian subcontinent depend upon Himalayan glaciers for drinking water, agriculture and energy. For reprint rights: Times Syndication Service, Melting of Himalayan glaciers: a far-reaching impact on the water resources. Due to climate change, these glaciers are melting twice as fast as they were in the year 2000. As the glaciers melt unconventionally, it will eventually result in water shortages. The rapid ice melt threatens agriculture and water supplyfor millions of people in South Asia, according to research published Monday in the journal Scientific Reports. Antarctica Contains 90% of Earth's glacier ice and when glacial ice melts it increases the sea level, unlike arctic ice (sea ice) which doesn't increase the sea level on melting. As the mountain guide in Nepal I have also been experiencing the changes caused by Global warming in Himalayas for more than a decade. Several Southeast Asian cities are already sinking for various reasons: Expert. Melting of Himalayan glaciers has doubled in recent years by Columbia University Changri Nup Glacier, one of the hundreds studied by the researchers. The data from EverDrill show that the glaciers are warming internally, and that large volumes of ice may already be close to the melting point, Quincey said. In the middle of the last ice age the mean annual temperature was only 3 degrees C cooler, he says. Elevation Dependent Warming is a phenomenon of more increase in temperature in mountains than at lower altitudes. The new study is both hugely significant and worrying, given the vast number of people who rely on the glacier meltwater for hydropower and irrigation, said Duncan Quincey, a glaciologist at the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom who works in the Himalaya. Video: Himalayan glacier breaks free, causing deadly flooding in India The study appears this week in the journal Science Advances. Most individual glaciers are not wasting uniformly over their entire surfaces, he noted; melting has been concentrated mainly at lower elevations, where some ice surfaces are losing as much as 5 meters (16 feet) a year. Divecha Centre for Climate Change, IISc Bangalore under the aegis of DST has investigated Satluj River basin and reported that there will be an increase in glacier melt contribution until the middle of the century and then there will be a decline. There will be volumes of water released onto slopes which before had been protected by solid sheets of ice. Most individual glaciers are not wasting uniformly over their entire surfaces, he noted;melting has been concentrated mainly at lower elevations, where someice surfacesare losing as much as 5 meters (16 feet) a year. The Himalayas are generally not melting as fast as the Alps, but the general progression is similar, say the researchers. Find out all you need to know about climbing Mount Everest, from its geology to the cost of climbing the notorious peak. The melting of the glaciers, a phenomenon that intensified in the 20th century, is leaving our planet iceless. Yes, it is melting very rapidly, I have been a mountain guide for 13 years and I have observed many things which are about Climate change. The analysis, spanning 40 years of satellite observations across India, China, Nepal and Bhutan, indicates that glaciers have been losing the equivalent of more than a vertical foot and half of ice each year since 2000 double . Glaciers are often referred to as rivers of ice, as they are large frozen volumes of water that slowly flow. The melting of glaciers will cause catastrophe in more ways than one Another type of glacial event that can occur as temperatures warm is the potential for the ice masses to drape across varied topography, including steep landscapes that result in hanging glaciers that are especially prone to breaking off and causing ice avalanches, Rupper added. These rivers include the Ganges, Indus and Brahmaputra. A new film, Till, documents the decades-long pursuit of justice for the 14-year-old, whose 1955 killing galvanized a generation of activists. Some researchers have argued thatfactors other than temperature areaffecting the glaciers. The Himalayan glaciers are retreating at rates ranging from 10 to 60 metres per year, and many small glaciers (< 0.2 sq km) have already disappeared. Zakir Hossain Chowdhury / Undark In Bangladesh, one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change, Manta people started. Further, the Company does not make any warranty as to the correctness or reliability of such content. The Himalayan mountains are also referred to as the third pole because they hold the world's third-largest amount of glacier ice, following Antarctica and the Arctic. Results indicate between 34 and 90% of water comes from melt during the dry, pre-monsoon season, with an average meltwater contribution of 65%. University of Leeds researchers. Corporate Governance and Public Governance Helps Nation Progress, Subjectivity in Civil Service Examination Is Absolutely Vital To Alleviate Poverty, Terms of Use and Grievance Redressal Policy. The study, led by the University of Leeds, concludes that over recent decades the Himalayan glaciers have lost ice ten times more quickly over the last few decades than on average since the last major glacier expansion 400-700 years ago, a period known as the Little . The government has carried out studies and maintains data regarding melting of glaciers in the Indian Himalayan region. Debris-covered glaciers in the south contributed 46.5% of total mass loss, despite making up only 7.5% of all Himalayan glaciers, meaning that their total mass loss is majorly disproportionate to . However, these are isolated cases - the vast majority of glaciers are shrinking and the shrinking trend is increasing.According to the World Glacier Monitoring Service, 77% of monitored glaciers were retreating in 2002. Our study reveals a robust signal of glacier ice loss linked to rising temperatures from climate change, Maurer says. Climate change has hastened glacial melting across the Hindu Kush Himalaya region, home to some of the world's tallest peaks, including Mount Everest. As global warming increases, glaciers melt faster and faster from the bottom, reducing their mass. Seriously, global warming is a great threat to the Himalayas. Its very informative news. Some 800 million people depend in part on seasonal runoff fromHimalayan glaciers for irrigation, hydropower and drinking water. Why Feminism is a big topic of discussion? Some researchers have argued that factors other than temperature are affecting the glaciers. Whether this particular disaster was caused by climate change isn't known. The study did not include the huge adjoining ranges of high-mountain Asia such as the Pamir, Hindu Kush, or Tian Shan, but other studies suggest that similar melting is underway there as well. (212) 854-9729 The melting has doubled because of the increase in global temperatures. Following a more pronounced warming trend starting in the 1990s,starting in 2000 the loss accelerated toabouthalf a meter (20 inches)annually. Majority of Himalayan glaciers are observed melting/ retreating at varying rates in different regions. Here, we reconstruct the extent and surfaces of 14,798 Himalayan glaciers during the Little Ice Age (LIA), 400 to 700 years ago. Muchof it eventually lands onsnowy glacier surfaces, where itabsorbs solar energy and hastens melting. Currently harboring some 600 billion tons of ice, the Himalayas are sometimes called the earths Third Pole. Many other recent studieshave suggested thatthe glaciers are wasting, including one this year projecting thatup to two-thirds of the current ice cover couldbe gone by 2100.

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