Glaciers in the Himalayas are melting faster than ever More Aboriginal rights: Australia’s Senate votes for referendum

The glaciers in the Himalayas, which supply nearly two billion people with water, are melting faster than ever due to climate change, according to scientists. Glaciers melted 65 percent faster between 2011 and 2020 than in the previous decade, according to a report released Tuesday by the International Center for Integrated Development of Mountain Regions (ICIMOD).

“As it gets warmer, the ice is melting, which was expected, but what was not expected and is very worrying is the speed,” the report’s lead author, Philippus Wester, told AFP. “It’s going much faster than we thought.”

Glaciers in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region are an important source of water for about 240 million people in the mountain regions, as well as another 1.65 billion people in the adjacent river valleys, according to the report.

Dine on ten of the great rivers

Based on current emission curves, glaciers could lose up to 80 percent of their current volume by the end of the century, according to the Nepal-based center ICIMOD. The intergovernmental organization also includes Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar and Pakistan.

The glaciers feed ten of the world’s major river systems, including the Ganges, Indus, Yellow River, Mekong and Irrawaddy. Directly or indirectly, they provide billions of people with food, energy, clean air and income. (sda/afp)