Why Nepal's Glaciers are Melting and Why it Matters.

Written by Pappu Jha | Trinity International College Alumni

Image by Kunda Dixit | Nepali Times

The Himalayan glaciers are melting at a pace much faster than expected, the study shows.

In 2019, Columbia University conducted a study using recently declassified America’s Cold War-era spy satellite images from the 1970s and 1980s. The result reveals that the Himalayan glaciers are melting at an alarming rate. In the period of two decades since the beginning of the 21st century, the speed has doubled relative to what it used to be in the late 20th century. Experts are concerned regarding its ramifications on billions of civilian population in South Asia who largely rely on the Himalayas for drinking water and irrigation.

This research also demonstrated that there is a loss of 8 billion tons of ice each year in the Himalayas. Due to continuous global warming, the glaciers are irreplaceable by snow. As a result, the height of glaciers is lowering by 5 meters on a yearly basis. Notably, the ice lost in the last four decades corresponds to more than a quarter of the total ice. The researchers calculate that the glaciers shrank by 22 cm (8.6 inches) per year from 1975 to 2000. However, the rate of melting took a leap and reached 43 cm in a year from 2000 to 2016.

This study estimates that two-thirds of the entire ice would melt by the end of the 21st century if the South Asian administrations take no effective actions. However, even if governments undertake immediate steps to combat the climate crisis, the fraction will still remain at one-third of the Himalayas. That is why climatologists often fear the future of South Asian nations in regard to climate catastrophe.

The region is already a victim of climate consequences at the moment. Every year, South Asia undergoes floods, landslides, and drinking water scarcity. The 2022 flood in Pakistan, for instance, was one of the deadliest in its history which caused a loss of almost 10% of its total GDP, a massive US $30 billion, as per the World Bank, and claimed more than 1700 lives. A major portion of farming, livestock, and livelihood of the state was destroyed. Today, the country has gone several years back in terms of economy and development.

Nepal itself is prey to landslides and floods on a regular basis. The melting of ice causes a rise in the flow of rivers which in the rainy months results in an overflow of water in human settlements yielding floods, and the same in hills brings landslides. In the year 2022 alone, the Himalayan state incurred human casualties of more than a hundred and economic losses of millions of dollars solely due to landslides and floods across the nation.

In addition to natural calamities, the excessive rise in temperature – global warming – is another factor of concern in South Asia. It has been proved that the surge in temperature is directly related to and consistent with the amount of ice being lost. Given that the ice melting has become twice since the turn of the 21st century, the pattern holds the same for heat rise too. The report shows an average rise of 1°C in the period of 2000 and 2016 compared to that of 1975-2000. Unfortunately, the impacts of heat have been rampant across various spheres of life in the region.

Primarily, the devastating effects of climate change are seen in the region’s food security. At the moment when a global food supply chain is disrupted as an outcome of the Russia-Ukraine war, India has been incapable of solving the issue despite having intentions to do so. The production of wheat in India, its second-largest global producer, has been choked by extreme heat waves across the country. In India, torridity negatively impacted the amount of rainfall which is a prerequisite for wheat growth. As per an estimate by India’s national planning commission, the Niti Aayog, wheat production is likely to drop by 10 percent from the expected quantity of 110 million tons. Its implications are seen in the form of surging wheat costs not just in India, but in various continents including its neighborhood where Indian wheat has been a primary food source.

The rapid melting of the Himalayas is one of the main effects of the global climate emergency. It is not just about losing a natural source but has brought the existence of countries at stake, particularly island nations like Maldives. It is, thus, the need of the hour for a collective global response by bringing commitments made under the Paris agreement and the United Nations Climate Change Conference into implementation.

Now talk about the importance of doing studies on glaciers. It is hence important to create programs that study phenomena like glacial melt. In this endeavor, Kuhiro Class has teamed up with MIT beaverworks to teach Nepali students the importance of geospacial mapping

In a bid to support the study of these glaciers and climate change in the region, Kuhiro class is launching Nepal's cube Satellite education program in collaboration with MIT Beaver Works. The event is specifically focused on the burning issue of the rapid melting of the Himalayas. It takes reference from research performed by students of a prestigious Columbia University in 2019 where they used declassified images of America’s Cold War-era spy satellites to study the pace of ice loss in the Himalayan range.

It is important to study glaciers in the world’s highest mountain range to examine their natural, social, and geopolitical repercussions, all of which are related to the livelihood of people in the region. Likewise, such an analysis is helpful for concerned governments to formulate policies for mitigating climate effects and fulfilling their national obligations made at global platforms. It also generates awareness among the civilian population regarding the persistence of a problem that motivates them to take action on an individual basis at a local level. Moreover, it also assists the global community, particularly multilateral institutions and rich countries, to provide technical and economic assistance to countries based on requirements for fighting the crisis.