Nepal floods: The Himalayas are melting faster
New research indicates that Himalayan glaciers are melting 65% faster than a decade ago, increasing the risk of catastrophic floods from unstable glacial lakes. The report highlights a critical lack of monitoring for the thousands of glaciers in the region.
Why it matters
Accelerated glacial melt poses an existential threat to millions of people living in the Himalayan river basins due to the increased frequency of natural disasters.
Share Save Add as preferred on Google Soutik Biswas India correspondent Nur Photo via Getty Images India's government says 56 glacial lakes had been classified as "very high risk" The Himalayas are approaching a dangerous threshold as glaciers melt faster, glacial lakes grow more unstable and the mountains face a widening gap in monitoring, according to new research.
The findings come in the aftermath of devastating floods in Nepal and Tibet, which killed more than 1,300 people and caused widespread destruction, highlighting the growing risks from a rapidly changing Himalayan environment.
Himalayan glaciers are now losing mass 65% faster than they were a decade ago, the report by global consultancy Systemiq, produced with the Integrated Mountain Initiative and with technical contributions from the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) and GB Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment, says.
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