Climate Change Threatens Asian Glaciers

The Chasing Glaciers expedition team will observe first hand the changes in the glaciers of the Tibetan Plateau, which includes the Himalaya, Karakoram and Hindu-Kush mountain ranges. These glaciers generate the largest river run-off from any single location in the world, providing more than 70 percent of the freshwater to the 178 million people who live downstream.

For the people who live downstream, glacier melt has a direct impact on their everyday life, from where they get their water, to their food supply, to where they live. For example, as climate change creates warmer spring temperatures, earlier glacier run off mixed with spring rains can create floods, overwhelming communities and decreasing the amount of runoff that is available during summer. Glacial lake outburst floods were recently cites as an imminent threat to the Indus river valley as glacier melt can breach dams and overwhelm the surrounding communities.

These glaciers are critical for storing water until the summer period of dry hot weather. Melted glaciers provide less water during times of drought when water is needed most for irrigation and human and livestock consumption.

Approximately 90 percent of the glaciers in the Tibetan Plateau have retreated during the past century, and the melt rate has markedly increased during the past decade, according to the United Nations report entitled the Global Outlook For Ice and Snow (PDF). Several of the glaciers show "strong retreat" in the past decade. Glaciers in the region could shrink by between 43 to 81 percent by 2100, according to projections from Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

According to the World Wildlife Fund, the "... communities which depend on glacier water will face more severe water shortages, variability and potentially greater flooding too."

Some of the rivers that carry glacier melt to communities across Asia could lose as much as 70 percent of their water as a result of climate change. The Indus River, which crosses Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and China, receives nearly 80 percent of its water from glaciers, making it extremely vulnerable to changes in temperature.

The 1,800 mile Indus begins in Tibet at a spring known as 'The Mouth of the Lion and flows down through the Karakoram into northern Pakistan. Disruptions in the water supply could cause distress for the people -- and potentially instability in the governments -- of the four dependent nations.

If temperatures continue to rise, the future could become perilous. The Indus is listed as one of the world's 10 rivers at most risk of dying because of climate change, according to the World Wildlife Fund.

"The Indus basin is already suffering from severe water scarcity due to over extraction for agriculture... In 1995, the Indus River already supplied much less water per person than the minimum recommended by the United Nations, and by 2025 is predicted to suffer even more severe water Scarcity."

The river is also home to diversified indigenous species that could be imperiled if the water flow from glacier melt is greatly reduced. One of the world's rarest mammals, the namesake Indus River Dolphin, of which only 1100 are known to exist, is particular at risk.