Climate Change Accelerates Melting of Himalayan Glaciers: Threat to Water Resources for Two Billion People

 Climate change has accelerated the melting rate of Himalayan glaciers, which serve as a vital water source for almost two billion people, putting communities at risk of unpredictable and costly disasters, according to an alert issued by scientists. The rate of disappearance of these glaciers has increased by 65 percent between 2011 and 2020 in comparison to the previous decade, as revealed by a report from the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD).

Philippus Wester, the lead author of the report, expressed concern over the alarming speed of this process. The Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region's glaciers play a crucial role in providing water for approximately 240 million people living in mountainous areas and an additional 1.65 billion people residing in the river valleys below.

If current emission trends continue, these glaciers could lose up to 80 percent of their existing volume by the end of the century, warns ICIMOD, an intergovernmental organization based in Nepal, with members from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, and Pakistan.

These glaciers nourish ten of the world's most significant river systems, including the Ganges, Indus, Yellow, Mekong, and Irrawaddy, supplying billions of people with essentials like food, energy, clean air, and income. The potential consequences of losing this cryosphere are unfathomable, says ICIMOD's deputy chief, Izabella Koziell.

Despite the Paris climate treaty's goal to limit global warming to 1.5 to 2.0 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, these glaciers are projected to lose one-third to half of their volume by 2100, according to the peer-reviewed report.

Highlighting the urgency of climate action, Wester emphasized that even minor increments can have enormous impacts. Improved technologies and high-resolution satellite imagery that were previously classified enable accurate predictions. 

The average global temperature has increased by nearly 1.2 °C since the mid-1800s, resulting in heightened extreme weather events, such as intense heatwaves, severe droughts, and storms exacerbated by rising sea levels.

Those hardest hit are the most vulnerable individuals and the world's poorest countries, which have contributed minimally to the increase in fossil fuel emissions resulting in higher temperatures. Amina Maharjan, a livelihoods and migration specialist at ICIMOD, pointed out that the communities impacted lack the needed support to adapt to these climatic changes.

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