Mount Everest is the highest peak on earth with an altitude of 8848 meters but its height cannot protect it from the effects of a warm atmosphere. Since the end of the 1990s, Everest's tallest glacier South Call has shrunk more than 54 meters.
Recent studies show that the glaciers of the Himalayas are melting rapidly. This was stated by Sharad Joshi, a cryosphere expert at the International Center for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD). He said that the glaciers could increase the surface of the sea and affect water resources.
Hindu Kush is melting in the Himalayas
The Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region is spread across eight countries. These glaciers are melting due to rising global temperatures and local weather conditions (with dry and cold winds). The rain pattern is changing. Even in high areas, rainfall is high and snowfall.
According to an ICIMOD study, about 56,000 glaciers in the Hindu Kush Himalayas melted 65% faster than the previous decades. By the end of this century they can lose up to 80% of their quantity. The Yala Glacier, located in the Langtang Valley of Nepal, is one of the most studied glaciers in the country.
From 1974 to 2021, one -third of the Yala Glacier melted
It is one of the glaciers supervised by ICimod. It is the only glacier in the Himalayan region that is included in the Global Glacier Casual List, which is a recently extinct or highly dangerous glaciers World Atlas.
Between 1974 and 2021, the area of Yala Glacier shrinks more than a third. This glacier may disappear in the next 20 to 25 years. Sharad Joshi says that whenever I visit Glacier, I am very sad to see the major loss.
The glaciers will melt in Nepal, India will also be affected
Sharad Joshi explains that glaciers melting in Nepal have multiple effects on communities and ecosystems at local and globally. Progial lakes are formed by the back of the glaciers. These lakes are surrounded by natural dams made of snow or debris, called Mauren.
Sudden rupture of these dams due to landslides or earthquakes can cause floods (glacial lake outburst floods or glofs) and can have a devastating effect on villages, roads, bridges, hydropower plants and other infrastructure. The impact can also be seen in India.
Sikkim incident in October 2023
In October 2023, a tsunami -like waves were raised with a height of up to 20 meters from a landslide in the Himalayan region. The flood caused huge damage to the 386 km long valley. About 55 people were killed and 70 others were missing.
Christian Hugle, a professor of environment and climate at Zurich University, says the phenomenon indicates how sensitive to the effects of climate change. South Lonk Lake is a glacier-moren lake located in the northwestern region of Sikkim. The lake is one of the fastest expanding lakes in the Sikkim Himalayan region. Considered sensitive to glofs.
The effects of the backdrop of glaciers
The effects of melted glaciers are equally serious and equally serious globally. The glaciers of the Nepali and the Himalayas provide water to some of the most important river bases in the world, including the Ganges and the Yellow River. About two billion people depend on the glaciers and ice water of the Himalayas.
The backdrop of the glaciers reduces the flow of rivers, causing seasonal water shortages, which damages farming. Limit the availability of drinking water. Joshi explains that the declining supply of water does not only endanger agriculture and hydropower production. It also changes the local ecosystem, which poses a risk to the species that adapts to the cold environment.
