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The melting of Himalayan glaciers has doubled since 2000
A new study has shown that 8 billion tonnes of ice—the equivalent of 3.2 million Olympic-size swimming pools—is melting each year in the Himalaya Mountains, and is not being replaced by snow. More than a quarter of all ice has been lost from Himalayan glaciers since 1975, with the rate of melting doubling since 2000. The losses will have devastating consequences in coming decades: a billion people living in India, Pakistan, China and other nations depend on water from rivers rising in the Himalayas. They include the Indus, the Yangtze and the Ganges-Brahmaputra.
Scientists compared US spy satellite images from the mid-1970s with modern satellite imagery to create the first detailed, long-term record of ice in the Himalaya mountain chain. They tracked the changes in 650 Himalayan glaciers. On average, the glacier surfaces sank by 22 centimetres (8.6 inches) a year from 1975 to 2000. The melting then accelerated, with an average loss of 43 centimetres a year from 2000 to 2016.
Temperatures in the region have risen one degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) higher than those from 1975 to 2000. The scientists calculated the amount of melting likely to result from warmer temperatures and confirmed that just one degree was enough to produce such a massive loss of glacier ice.
The rapid retreat of glaciers in the Himalayas and other mountain ranges around the world provides yet more evidence for global warming and the growing climate emergency. Another report, published in February 2019, found that at least a third of the ice in the Himalayas would melt by the end of the century, even if drastic action to cut carbon emissions was taken immediately. If no action is taken, two-thirds of the ice would disappear.
This melting is resulting in seasonal flooding and the creation of many glacial lakes. These create a risk of catastrophic outburst floods. In May 2012, such a flood claimed the lives over 60 people in villages near Pokhara, Nepal.