Everest Glaciers may disappear by 2100 due to global warming: Study

A new study has warned that Glaciers in the Everest region of the Himalayas could shrink at least 70 per cent or even disappear entirely by 2100 due to global warming.
This study was undertaken by team of researchers from International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD).
For this study, ICIMOD researchers from Nepal, France and Netherlands had studied glaciers in the Dudh Kosi basin in the Nepal Himalaya.
Key facts

• By the end of 2100, most of the glaciers in the Mount Everest region will disappear or drastically shrink due to temperatures increase because of continuous rise in greenhouse-gas emissions.
• The estimated 5,500 glaciers in the Hindu Kush-Himalayan (HKH) region and many of the world’s tallest peaks may reduce their volume by 70 percent to 99 percent by 2100.
• The rate of disappearance will depend on how much greenhouse-gas emissions continue to rise and indirectly will affect temperature, snowfall and rainfall in this region.
• Increased temperatures due to global warming will not only increase the rates of snow and ice melt, but can also result in a change of precipitation from snow to rain at critical elevations, where glaciers are concentrated.
• It will greatly affect the farming and hydropower generation downstream of the Himalayan peaks. While, avalanches and earthquakes in this region also can breach the dams, causing catastrophic floods.
• It can also result in the creation and growth of lakes dammed by glacial debris.

Month: Current Affairs - May, 2015