A new report published by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) paints a scary picture of what the future might look like in light of rising temperatures across the globe. Climate change has become a pressing concern for the international community, and we need stronger policy for limiting temperature spikes and controlling the ramifications of accelerated global warming.
The ICIMOD examined the impact of climate change over an area stretching 1.6 million square miles, from Afghanistan to Myanmar. Glaciers in the area’s mountain ranges—primarily the Hindu Kush and Himalaya—are expected to melt 65 percent faster in the next few years. In fact, there is a strong likelihood that these mountain ranges will lose at least 80 percent of their glacial volume by the end of the century due to higher temperatures. The ICIMOD pushed a report back in 2019 that accounted for the best case scenario in which global temperature rise remains well under the 1.5-degree Celsius mark. Even in this, the region is expected to lose at least one third of its glaciers which would prove to be devastating for the high mountain communities that depend on these glaciers as a source of water and sustenance. The repercussions of this, if it was to happen at the rate at which experts are claiming it will, will include inundating farmlands downstream, followed by drought and the drying up of water sources.
In a future where glaciers do disappear, the erosion of glacial slops left behind will increase the likelihood of floods, landslides and avalanches which will increase the risk of living in high altitude communities. This is just one region that was put under the microscope; climate change is a globally occurring phenomenon that will undoubtedly destroy more landscapes across the world. If we fail to create strict and urgent policies, there is no way that we will be able to deal with the manifestations of climate change in the short term, as well as the long term. The situation demands the global community to act now, and coordinate with one another to come up with a solution.