By AJAY CHHIBBER and ANDREAS SCHILD of The NYTimes
The roof of the world is springing a dangerous leak. Accelerated melting of glaciers and changes in rainfall patterns in the high Himalayan mountain chain are posing a growing risk to people’s lives and livelihoods in the 10 river basins downstream.
Rivers that flow from these mountains wind their way through thousands of kilometers of grazing, agricultural and forest lands, and are a source of irrigation, drinking water and energy for some 1.3 billion people who live in the river basins. But the glaciers in the Hindu Kush-Himalaya range are shrinking at a fast pace.
Any long-term loss of natural fresh- water storage is likely to have severe effects on communities downstream. One relatively recent occurrence is the formation of lakes behind glacial debris that can burst and cause “glacial lake outburst floods,” or Glofs. These can do considerable damage downstream.
Perhaps even more important are changes in the magnitude and frequency of rainfall, which, in combination with a reduced amount of snow and ice, could have substantial impact on the availability of water. The effect on food production could be catastrophic.
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