Glaciers in the Himalayas are melting at twice the rate they used to, according to a new study published in the journal Science Advances. Why? In short: climate change.
A team of scientists used satellite images taken during four decades (including during the Cold War, from spy satellites) to make the comparison. In layman’s terms, scientists converted the satellite images into 3D images and used those to compare the thickness of ice in 650 different regions.
The study encompasses a wide area, from India, China, Nepal, and Bhutan, and even includes Mount Everest. Unfortunately, the wide area has a consistent bad result: lots and lots of loss. There’s been a loss of 8.3 billion tons of ice per year since 2000. In the years between1975 and 2000, the average was 4.3 billion tons. To put this another way, according to researchers, less than three-quarters of the ice that existed back in 1975 still exists today.
As is probably unsurprising, at higher elevations (where temperatures are also colder, to begin with), there has been less ice loss. But the closer you get to ground level, the more concerning the rate of ice loss gets.
Researchers say “that glaciers have been losing the equivalent of more than a vertical foot and a half of ice each year since 2000 — double the amount of melting that took place from 1975 to 2000.”
Climate change has real-world impacts on people living in the surrounding areas. So for example, communities that live in Pakistan, China, or India and depend on these water sources for energy, drinking water, or agriculture purposes may face dangerous (if not life-threatening) consequences if things don’t change. Water supply aside, the risks of natural disasters, like flash flooding, are also increased.
Researchers acknowledge the human impact and how serious it is, noting that this is “the latest and perhaps most convincing indication that climate change is eating the Himalayas’ glaciers, potentially threatening water supplies for hundreds of millions of people downstream across much of Asia.”
Another unique aspect of this study is that, in general, researchers tend to focus on super-specific regions, or even particular glaciers, to mark ice loss. The very depth of this research—and its consistency—is notable. Also, given that the Himalayas are sometimes referred to as “the Third Pole,” due to the mountain ranges, it’s a part of the planet many may recognize. Will familiarity help people pay more attention? Given the rate that it’s disappearing at, let’s hope that’s the case.