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Himalayan and Hindu Kush glaciers are melting twice as fast since 2000
The glaciers of the Hindu Kush and Himalayan high mountains are losing mass at an alarming rate: they are melting twice as fast as before 2000 due to climate change, according to two scientific studies released by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), based in Kathmandu, Nepal.
TL;DR
- Glaciers in the Hindu Kush and Himalayas are melting twice as fast since the year 2000.
- These mountain ranges have lost up to 27 meters of ice thickness since 1975.
- The crisis is intensifying annually with floods and avalanches from glacial lake overflows.
- The region's glaciers lost 12% of their surface area and 9% of their ice volume between 1990 and 2020.
- The average ice loss rate increased from 35 cm/year (1974-1999) to 72 cm/year (since 2000).
- The Hindu Kush and Himalayan ranges hold over 63,700 glaciers, a vital water source for at least ten major river basins in Asia.
- Urgent reinforcement of monitoring systems is needed to detect risks before climate change has its maximum impact.