The IPCC blunder aside, glaciers are melting and melting fast and melting due to climate change! Every other day some study throws up new evidence. Now, a U.S. Geological Survey report says that many of Asia’s glaciers are retreating as a result of climate change.
This retreat impacts water supplies to millions of people, increases the likelihood of outburst floods that threaten life and property in nearby areas, and contributes to sea-level rise.
The U.S. Geological Survey collaborated with 39 international scientists on “the status of glaciers throughout all of Asia, including Russia, China, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Kazakhstan.
The time period for retreat also differs among each glacier. In Bhutan, 66 glaciers have decreased 8.1 percent over the last 30 years. Rapid changes in the Himalaya is shown in India by the 12 percent retreat of Chhota Shigri Glacier during the last 13 years, as well as retreat of the Gangotri Glacier since 1780, with 12 percent shrinkage of the main stem in the last 16 years.
Some of the well-known climate deniers are turning believers. Ironically, by the time we have a substantial group of converts, things may get too difficult to tackle.
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