Scale of glacier loss in Himalayas previously hidden, say scientists studying accelerated melting
- Despite using satellite data, studies of lake-terminating glaciers in the ‘third pole’ overlooked 2.7 gigatonne loss, says paper
- Findings important for understanding the impact of water resources and flooding in the region, says Chinese researcher
The loss of mass in glaciers terminating into lakes in the greater Himalayas region has been significantly underestimated, according to a new study.
Glaciers are an important water resource but they are melting at an accelerating rate because of climate change.
The study by an international team, including researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, found that the loss of around 2.7 gigatonnes (Gt) of glaciers terminating at lakes in the Himalayas was missed in calculations made between 2000 and 2020.
That weight is equivalent to 570 million elephants, or more than 1,000 times the total number of elephants living in the world, according to the authors. Their study was published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Geoscience earlier this month.
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Melting glaciers in northern Pakistan blamed for rising number of dangerous outburst floods
The Himalayas, also known as the third pole, has the most glaciers outside the Arctic and Antarctica. The region is the source of 10 major rivers in Asia and delivers water to almost 2 billion people.