Melting water towers!
Climate change is taking a heavy toll on Himalayan glaciers posing a serious threat to our water resources. The problem has assumed horrendous dimension that even the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres voiced his serious concern of rapid retreating of glaciers in the Himalayas. In his video message for the Everest Dialogue in Nepal he minced no words to state that Himalayan glaciers are caving in. The UN chief sought immediate measures to check the climate crisis in the Himalayas—the most fragile ecosystem.
He stated that record temperatures have led to record glacier melt. “We would see low-lying countries and communities erased forever. Combined with saltwater intrusion, this could trigger collapsing deltas and mass displacement,” Guterres warned. During the Everest Dialogue, over 100 children and youth demanded urgent climate action to secure their future.
A new report of the United Nations’ reveals that rapid melting of Himalayan glaciers has increased the vulnerability of Himalayan grazers’ livelihoods. The accelerated glacier recession is leading to a decline in the quality of pastures for livestock grazing, which in turn affects their livelihoods.
The UN’s report ‘Mountains and glaciers water towers’ has set off alarm that accelerating glacier melt risks unleashing an avalanche of cascading impacts on economies, ecosystems and communities, “not just in mountain regions but at global level.”
It states that the fast runoff of melting glaciers also contributes to the increasing frequency of geohazard events in the region.
The report states that five of the past six years have witnessed the most rapid glacier retreat on record. From 2022- 2024, the largest three-year loss of glacier mass has been witnessed.
Global warming has propelled rapid melting of Glaciers in Asia’s Hindu Kush Himalaya. Experts state that the region could lose up to 75% of their volume by the end of the century.
More than 275,000 glaciers worldwide cover form 70% of the global freshwater resources and are thus called as the world’s water towers.
In view of rapid melting of glaciers, 2025 was declared as the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation. The World Day for Glaciers was proposed by Tajikistan and adopted by a UN General Assembly resolution inviting UNESCO and WMO, in cooperation with UN Member States and to facilitate their implementation. India, along with 35 other countries, are part of this global initiative.
Why should I worry about melting of Glaciers? We must know that our J&K and Ladakh form one of the largest parts of the Himalayas. The region houses major glaciers in the Hindu Kush — Kolahoi, the largest glacier of Kashmir valley’s Jhelum Basin, Thajiwas, Hoksar, Nehnar, Shishram, and Harmukh glaciers surround us. Due to global warming and extreme pollution, these glaciers are retreating rapidly.
The matter of concern is the fast melting of Kolahoi glacier, which is the main source of water for river Jhelum, considered to be the lifeline of Kashmir. The retreating of Kolhai has led to a drastic decrease in Jhelum’s water.
As per studies, Kolhai glacier has fragmented into smaller parts losing almost 23 percent of its area since 1962 and has fragmented into smaller parts. Its melting rate is higher than the glaciers in the rest of the Himalayas.
Experts sound alarm that mass loss of the glaciers can exacerbate in future diminishing the stream flow of the trans-boundary rivers emanating from the region. The melting of glaciers has created another problem. It has led to formation of proglacial lakes dammed by loose moraine material. These artificial lakes sometimes result in sudden and catastrophic Glacial Lake Outburst Floods. GLOFs have potential to destroy downstream infrastructure and cause fatalities besides affecting livelihoods of mountain communities.
Prolonged dry spells amid high temperatures in peak winter period in Kashmir has led to rapid loss of snow cover and propelled melting of glaciers. There is a need to join global efforts to preserve glaciers. Studies must be conducted to understand main causes of glacier recession and formulate scientific solutions to reduce the melting rate.
Besides scientific research, community engagement is important to mitigate the adverse impacts of climate change on snow and glaciers. We need to make people living in eco-fragile areas about the importance of preserving our eco-system. We need to launch campaigns to educate people about the crucial role of glaciers and adverse impacts on these due to rising temperatures and black carbon deposition.
We need to learn from people of Ladakh who are at the forefront of climate change mitigation.
Ladakhis have adopted innovative adaptation to melting of glaciers which had severely affected water availability for drinking and agriculture. Due to necessity, Ladakhis created artificial basins, cascades and ice reservoirs to store water for a long time. If Ladakhis can, why can’t we? Are we waiting for the region to turn into a desert!
We have to join global efforts to preserve our fragile glaciers and contribute our bit to ensure regional water availability and hydrological regimes. We need to understand that glaciers are our lifeline and that glacier recession at a fast pace means serious threat to our water security, agriculture, and disaster risks in the region.
Author is Executive Editor,
Greater Kashmir
