Glacier meltdown

The Himalayas are losing 8 billion tonnes of frozen water annually

That the Himalayan glaciers are melting rapidly is known. But what is unnerving is that the rate of their erosion has doubled in recent years. This latest revelation calls for focused strategies to tackle its causes and consequences. The Himalayan snow deposits, the lifeline of the rivers emanating from this mountain chain, are critical to meet the water needs of millions of people in India and other Asian countries, particularly during the pre-monsoon summer months. A recent satellite data-based study of around 650 glaciers across the 2,000-km Himalayan range estimates that the rate of decline in the snow cover, which