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Warming leads to water crisis in Himalayas
Why is it in news?
- Climate change is driving glaciers in the Himalayas to melt more rapidly than at any point in the last 10,000 years
- It could soon cause water supply shortage in parts of India, Pakistan, and Nepal, a study has warned.
- Researchers from Ohio State University in the U.S. showed that climate change could have devastating effects on vulnerable residents in the Andes mountains and the Tibetan plateau.
- By 2100, the best case scenario is that half of the ice will disappear.
- Researchers showed that while water supply is declining, demand is rising because of growing populations.
- The glaciers in Peru supply critically needed water for people, crops and livestock.
- The international research team dubbed the plateau the “Third Pole” because it contains the largest stores of freshwater in the world outside of the North and South poles.
Source
The Hindu