Himalayas approaching tipping point, millions of livelihoods at stake: Report

HONG KONG – The Himalayas are approaching a tipping point as glaciers melt faster than they did a decade ago, threatening water security as the region approaches “peak water” by mid-century, according to a study released in September.

The findings come after the collapse of a Himalayan glacier in late August along the Nepal-Tibet border, which caused cascading landslides and flash floods in the valleys below. At least 1,300 people have been confirmed dead, with more than 5,300 missing across Nepal and Tibet.

As glaciers retreat, they are leaving behind unstable glacial lakes held back by little more than loose rock and ice, above valleys where millions of people live, the study found.

The study was produced by Systemiq, a sustainability advisory firm, together with the Integrated Mountain Initiative, the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development and India’s G.B. Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment.

Himalayan glacier mass loss has accelerated in recent decades, while only 21 glaciers are currently monitored on the ground out of an estimated 40,000 across the Hindu Kush-Himalaya region, a vast mountain system spanning eight countries from Afghanistan to Myanmar, the study found.

Close to 200 glacial lakes in India have been identified as high risk, with 56 classified as “very high risk”, leaving millions of people exposed downstream.

As the region nears “peak water”, the point when river flows stop rising and start declining, it could have profound implications for water security.

The Himalayas underpin more than 20 per cent of India’s gross domestic product, making the region a key piece of the country’s national economic infrastructure, on which hundreds of millions of people depend.

Though making up around 18 per cent of India’s land, the Himalayan region accounts for roughly 35 per cent of the country’s natural disasters. REUTERS