Glaciers & Global Warming

“If our sacred glacier cannot survive, how can we?”

-          Jia Son, a Tibetan farmer who lives in a village where a catastrophe is unfolding in China’s mountainous Yunnan Province

In Asia, the ice and snow from glaciers that feeds into rivers is the main source of freshwater for 2 billion people in more than 12 countries , which nearly ONE THIRD OF THE WORLD’S POPULATION.

The Tibetan Plateau is more vulnerable to climate change than anywhere else in the world. This is due to the rare combination of high altitudes and low latitudes.

The majority of these glaciers are shedding more ice than they are adding. To be exact 95% of the 680 glaciers that Chinese scientists monitor closely are demonstrating this behavior.

There are many devastating side effects which include:

Too much water…

·         Surging meltwater has carried away topsoil and has also caused more frequent flooding and landslides

·         Thousands of glacial lakes formed, which are unstable

Too little water…

·         Plunge in food production

·         Widespread migration

·         Possible conflicts between Asian powers

There are some responses to the threats of climate change:

Ø  Artificial Glaciers: simple stone embankments that trap and freeze glacial melt in the fall for use in the early spring growing season

Ø  Remote monitoring system: gauges when glacial lakes are in danger of bursting & has the technology to drain them

Ø  Building reservoirs: China aims to build 59 reservoris to capture and save glacial runoff