By Our Correspondent

National News – Himalayan glaciers, a critical source of freshwater for nearly two billion people, are melting at twice the rate observed in 2000, according to a recent report.

Stretching from Afghanistan to Myanmar, the Hindu Kush-Himalayan range holds the largest ice reserves outside the Arctic and Antarctica, feeding ten major Asian rivers that support water, food, and energy security across the continent.

Alarmingly, a third of these glaciers are highly vulnerable to rising temperatures, which prevent them from regaining lost mass.

The average ice loss in the region has surged from 34 centimeters per year before 2000 to 73 centimeters annually, reveals studies conducted by the Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD).

Since 1975, glaciers have lost up to 27 meters in thickness, with approximately 12% of glacier coverage disappearing between 1990 and 2020.

ICIMOD Director General Pema Gyamtsho warned, “This isn’t a distant problem, it’s a crisis unfolding in real time.”

Lead author Farooq Azam emphasized the urgent need to reduce black-carbon emissions from fossil fuels, waste burning, and other sources that accelerate glacier melting.

Experts call for increased monitoring, climate adaptation investments, and urgent action to prevent long-term water shortages and threats to food and energy security in Asia.

The findings underscore a global wake-up call: the Himalayan glaciers, which sustain billions of lives downstream, face irreversible damage if immediate climate action is not taken.

Policy measures targeting emissions control, sustainable energy adoption, and glacier preservation are vital to mitigate the rapid ice loss threatening ecosystems, agriculture, and human survival across Asia.