Himalayan glaciers could lose 75 per cent of ice by 2100
Glaciers in the Himalayas melted up to 65 per cent faster between 2010 and 2019 than in the previous decade. By the end of the century, glaciers across the Hindu Kush Himalaya, a region that stretches across eight countries and includes the peaks of Everest and K2, could shrink by up to 75 per cent. “We’re losing the glaciers, and we’re losing them in 100 years’ time,” said Philippus Wester, an environmental scientist and lead author of a new report from the Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD). This could cause extreme flooding followed by water shortages – more than 240 million people live in the region, but more than 1.6 billion people depend on the melted snow and ice for their water supply, and the report found water flows in the area’s 12 river basins will likely peak mid-century.
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