Human-made climate change accelerating the rate of glacial melting
The amount of ice that melts every year from glaciers on the tops of the world’s highest mountains has been accumulating for decades.
A new study has found that the Himalayas have to accept this horrific erosion because of the human-made climate crisis. The melting of the glacier on the top of Everest is a sign of a significant catastrophe.
All the 1.6 billion people depend on this melting glacier water for their drinking, irrigation, and hydroelectricity.
Studies have shown that the ice that took 2,000 years to freeze in the South Cole Glacier melted in 25 years. In other words, the rate of ice melting is 80 times higher than the time it took to form.
The report publishes in a reputed scientific journal named Nature Portfolio under the Climate and Atmospheric Science section. The study pointed out the less attention of researchers towards the melting of the world’s highest glaciers.
In 2019, scientists and mountaineers went to the South Cole Glacier, six from Maine. They collected samples from a 10-meter-long piece of ice.
They also set up two automatic weather stations at the highest places on the Earth to collect data. They are trying to answer how much the most distant glaciers are affected by human-made climate change.
Paul Mayewski, head of the expedition and director of the Climate Change Institute at the University of Maine, said, “The answer to that question is – yes, the human-made climate change has effects over the glacier melting. Since 1990, the results have been significant. “
Researchers confirmed that human-made climate change affects the highest peaks on Earth and upsets the ice sheet balance.
Once glacier ice is exposed, the 55-meter-high ice sheet melts in a timeframe of 25 years. Researchers say the iceberg may have started melting since the 1950s, but the rate increased after the 1990s.
The melting of glaciers can cause changes in humidity levels and wind patterns. Researchers have warned that the survival of the glacier-dependent population could threaten in the future.
In that expedition in 2019, three Guinness World Records has set,
- Collection of ice cubes at an altitude of 8,020 m above sea level,
- Collection of microplastics from at the height of 8,440 m above sea level, and
- Set up meteorological stations at the height of 8,430 m above sea level.
The meteorological stations are the first to be set up in an area known as the ‘Death Zone, an area above 8,000 meters above normal sea level is known as a ‘death zone’ because climbing at that altitude is dangerous and has low oxygen content.
