<p>The ;Himalayan ;mountain range, home to Mount
Everest, holds tens of thousands of ;glaciers. A study has  ;found that, on average, theHimalayan glaciers ;lost
10 inches of ice per year from 1975 to 2000 </p>



<p>However, latest reports from CNN, monitored by OpenLife, indicate that climate change is eating away Himalayan glaciers at a dramatic rate, a new study has revealed.</p>



<p>Spanning
2,000 kilometers and harboring some 600 billion tons of ice, Himalayan glaciers
supply around 800 million people with water for irrigation, hydropower and
drinking.</p>



<p>But
they have been losing almost half a meter of ice each year since the start of
this century &#8212; double the amount of melting that occurred between 1975 and
2000 &#8212; according to the Columbia University researchers behind the study.</p>



<p>Recently,
the glaciers have lost around 8 billion tons of water a year &#8212; the equivalent
of 3.2 million Olympic-size swimming pools, say the researchers. And that could
potentially threaten water supplies for hundreds of millions of people across
parts of Asia.</p>



<p><a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2019/04/08/world/global-glaciers-sea-levels-study-scn-intl/index.html"></a></p>



<p>As
the ice melts it forms large glacial lakes, which are already impacting local
communities, according to lead author Joshua Maurer.</p>



<p>“It
can collapse and result in these huge outburst floods. And these are
devastating for downstream communities,&#8221; he said.</p>



<p>Short-term,
experts predict more of this flooding, but less ice in the glaciers could
ultimately lead to drought.</p>



<p>The
researchers reviewed 40 years of satellite observations across India, China,
Nepal and Bhutan and found that Himalayan glaciers have been retreating rapidly
since 2000 due to an average 1 degree Celsius temperature rise in the region.</p>



<p>&#8220;Atmospheric
warming appears to really be the dominant driver of ice loss,&#8221; he said,
adding that Himalayan glaciers may have lost as much as a quarter of their
enormous mass over the past four decades.</p>



<p>Jeffrey
Kargel, of The Planetary Science Institute, in Arizona said the paper was
&#8220;an excellent contribution to our rapidly and fabulously growing knowledge
of Himalayan glaciation.&#8221;</p>



<p>This study, published in the journal Science Advances, is the latest to highlight how rising temperatures present a growing threat to people living in glacial regions.</p>



<p>A report ublished in April warned that most glaciers in Central Europe, Western Canada and the United States could vanish by second half of this century under current ice loss rates.</p>



<p>Earlier this year a study warned that a third of the ice in the Hindu Kush Himalaya region, home to the world&#8217;s highest peaks, Mount Everest and K2, could melt by the end of this century.</p>



<p>&#8220;In the short-term, such rapid melt
rates will mean summer floods become more frequent as river discharge is
increased, but the long-term prospect is one of drought as the glacier reservoir
becomes depleted,&#8221; Duncan Quincey, a professor at the University of Leeds
who specializes in glaciology reveals.</p>



<p>Chris
Rapley, professor of climate science at University College London said that ice
loss is &#8220;already undermining the viability of small communities in the
Himalayas as they suffer ever more serious water shortages.&#8221;</p>



<p>According
to Rapley, water shortages in the Himalayas could trigger mass migration &#8212; a
&#8220;daunting&#8221; prospect.</p>



<p>&#8220;Better
for all of us to accelerate to net zero as a matter of the highest
priority,&#8221; he said.</p>



<p>Net
zero means the amount of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere is no
more than the amount taken out.</p>



<p>Joerg
Schaefer, co-author of the study and research professor at Columbia&#8217;s Earth
Observatory, said the only way to slow down the melting is by &#8220;cooling the
planet.&#8221;</p>



<p>He said that target set by the 2015 Paris Agreement to keep global temperatures to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, would see continued melting that presented a &#8220;pretty devastating scenario for Himalayan glaciers.&#8221;</p>

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