Glaciers in the Himalayas are melting at double the speed due to rising temperatures in the early 21st century. Not only this, half the snow is melting every year, due to which the water shortage crisis has arisen for crores of people including India.
Claim to swallow climate change glaciers in India, China, Nepal, and Bhutan, a study published in the journal Science Advances
Based on 40 years of satellite analysis, researchers have found that climate change in India, China, Nepal, and Bhutan is swallowing the Himalayan glaciers. This claim has been made in a study published in 2019, which was published in the journal Science Advances in June 2019.
According to the study, ice has been melting rapidly every year since the year 2000. The melting speed of glaciers has doubled since 1975 to 2,000. Joshua Maurer, the study's lead author and Ph.D. at Columbia University in the US, said, "It is clear that the Himalayan glaciers are melting rapidly at regular intervals."
On this basis, glaciers may have lost a quarter of their total weight over the last four decades. The study estimates data from this region, which is based on data taken from current satellites. The study excludes the Pamir, Hindukush, or Tian Shan areas adjoining the Himalayas. However, many studies suggest that glaciers are melting in a similar manner in these areas.
The temperature rises one degree in 16 years compared to 25 years
The study says that temperature contributes to the melting of glaciers. A temperature of one degree Celsius has been recorded from 2,000 to 2016 as compared to 2,000 in 1975.
80 crore population dependent on glaciers only
According to the study, around 80 crore population of the world depend on Himalayan glaciers for irrigation, hydropower, and drinking water. If this continues, then eventually there will be a shortage of water.
Satellite photographs of 650 glaciers spanning 2,000 km were analyzed
The researchers analyzed satellite images of 650 glaciers stretching 2,000 km from west to east. A 3D model was created for this, which showed the changing height of glaciers over time. They found that the glaciers were losing an average of about 0.25 m of snow every year from 1975 to 2000, but since the year 2000, the pace of melting had increased by about half a meter annually.