APEX EXPRESS

Posts Tagged ‘Melting’

The scientific world now knows that the massive chain of the Himalaya Mountains that towers above us is vulnerable. If proof were needed, it can be found in the dizzying speed with which the glaciers are melting, some as fast as almost 200 feet per year, which places mountain dwellers in direct threat. Glacial lakes are forming that are deep, broad and still growing. The slightest earthquake or even the fall of a serac may be enough to turn this water into “mountain tsunamis”. The Himalayas are also a watershed of drinking water for over one billion people. Nine major rivers, including the Ganges and the Brahmaputra, descend from them. Hundreds of miles downstream, these two great tributaries empty into the Bay of Bengal after passing through Bangladesh. This country is already regularly swept by natural disasters and can do without the melting ice which only accentuates already fearsome flooding caused by the monsoons. With flooding in the north and centre, the south is in danger of being drowned by rising sea levels. Within 50 years a third of the country may disappear. This would make 390 million climate refugees come knocking on India’s doors since India is their most immediate neighbour. The impact of climate change will soon take on geopolitical proportions.