The snow and ice of the Himalayas provide an essential source of water for the 240 million people living in mountainous regions and another 1.65 billion people living in valleys in several countries.
In a report published last week by scientists from the International Center for Integrated Mountain Development (Icimod), based in Nepal. warn: these millions of people who depend on melting Himalayan snow for their water supply face a risk of shortage this year, according to them.
According to Icimod, which has been monitoring snow cover in the region for more than 20 years, “this year, the persistence of snow (18.5% below normal) is the second lowest in the last 22 years, just after the record of 19% established in 2018,” the author of the report, Sher Muhammad, told AFP. “Less snow accumulation and fluctuating snow levels significantly increase the risk of water shortages, particularly this year,” he stressed, citing “a wake-up call for researchers, policy makers and communities [who live] downstream.”
Since the 19th century, the Earth’s average temperature has warmed by 1.1°C. Scientists have established with certainty that this increase is due to human activities, which consume fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas). This warming, unprecedented in its speed, threatens the future of our societies and biodiversity. But solutions – renewable energies, sobriety, reduced meat consumption – exist.
The report measured the time snow remains on the ground. By 2024, levels have fallen by almost a fifth of normal across the entire Hindu Kush region and the Hindu Kush mountain range in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and the Himalayas.
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