Himalayan glaciers

13 Stories

It Was a Disaster Foretold in India. More Will Follow

A glacial lake overflowed in India's northeast, causing death and destruction

(Newser) - The dam had been contentious from the start. It was the largest to be built in India's far northeastern Sikkim state, and had been operating since 2017 as part of the country's effort to use hydroelectric power. Early Wednesday, Lhonak Lake overflowed and tore through the Teesta 3...

He Died in 1984 Avalanche. His Body Was Just Found

Body of Indian soldier Chandrashekhar Harbola found in ruined shelter on Siachen Glacier

(Newser) - An Indian soldier who disappeared in an avalanche in the Himalayas almost 40 yers ago will finally be laid to rest. The body of Chandrashekhar Harbola was discovered Saturday on the Siachen Glacier along the India-Pakistan border, a disputed area the two countries have been fighting to control since 1984....

Everest Ice: 2K Years to Form, 25 to Melt
Everest Ice: 2K Years
to Form, 25 to Melt
NEW STUDY
Feb 4, 2022 10:52 AM CST

Everest Ice: 2K Years to Form, 25 to Melt

Study documents rapid retreat of glacier

(Newser) - The ice atop Mount Everest took roughly 2,000 years to form and about 25 years to melt, according to a new study, which suggests that even one of the highest glaciers on the planet is retreating as a result of climate change. Researchers traveled to the highest glacier on...

Himalayan Glaciers Melting at an 'Exceptional' Rate
Himalayas Melting Has
Massively Accelerated
NEW STUDY
Dec 20, 2021 2:54 PM CST

Himalayas Melting Has Massively Accelerated

Glaciers are declining at an 'exceptional' rate, researchers say

(Newser) - Glaciers are shrinking in many parts of the world but in the Himalayas, where the ice loss will affect hundreds of millions, they're melting at an "exceptional" rate, researchers say. University of Leeds glaciologist Jonathan Carrivick says a study that involved analyzing satellite photos of more than 15,...

Massive Rescue Underway After India Glacier Tragedy

At least 9 were killed and 140 were missing Sunday

(Newser) - Indian authorities launched a search operation Sunday after part of a mountain glacier broke, sending a massive flood of water and debris slamming into two dams and damaging a number of homes, per the AP . At least nine people were killed and 140 were missing. The flood was caused when...

Report on Himalayan Ice Cap Has 'Shocking Finding'

One-third of the ice cap can't be saved, scientists say

(Newser) - The precise impact of rising temperatures in the Himalayas hasn’t been clear to scientists. But it is now, a report issued Monday says, per the Guardian : At least one-third of the huge ice fields in the mountain chain will melt by 2100. That’s even if the loftiest goals...

New Threat in Himalayas' Glacial Melt: Tsunamis

Villagers could have just minutes' warning

(Newser) - Tsunamis can occur far from the ocean, and climate change is increasing the risk of disaster in one of the more unlikely places on Earth: the Himalayas. Lakes are forming more frequently in the area thanks to glacial melting, and when a natural dam breaks—due to erosion, water pressure,...

In Global Warming Twist, Some Asian Glaciers Growing

Karakoram range bucking trend of most Himalayan glaciers

(Newser) - Global warming is melting the Himalayan glaciers faster and faster , threatening one of the world's most important fresh water supplies—unless it isn't. The glaciers in at least one part of the Karakoram range are actually putting on mass, and scientists are not sure why, reports the BBC...

Pakistan Stumped in Race to Find Avalanche Missing

No victims recovered yet as more snowfall looms in Himalayan outpost

(Newser) - Pakistan is using bulldozers in a frantic, if thus far futile, search through some 80 feet of snow after an avalanche buried at least 135 people near a Himalayan military complex at the India border. At least 240 troops and civilians were today sifting through a slushy mix of snow,...

Avalanche Buries 100 Pakistani Soldiers

They're trapped while at camp in Himalayas

(Newser) - An avalanche along the Pakistan-India border tore into a Pakistan army base high in the Himalayas in the early morning hours today, burying about 100 soldiers, reports the AP . Rescue efforts were under way. The base is located in a valley between two mountains and is the main gateway that...

Mt. Everest Getting More Dangerous to Climb: Sherpa

Global warming changing Himalayas, melting glaciers

(Newser) - Climate change appears to be hitting even the highest place on Earth, the Himalayas. A leading Nepalese mountaineer says the mountain range, including Mount Everest, has lost much of its snow and ice, making it now more prone to rockfalls and more dangerous to climb, reports AFP . "In 1989...

Himalayan Glaciers Melting Fast: Scientists

Key reports released at UN climate conference

(Newser) - The Himalayan glaciers are melting—and quickly, scientists have confirmed for the first time. Over the past three decades, the 10 glaciers surveyed have shrunk by up to 22%, scientists revealed yesterday at a UN climate change conference in South Africa. Bhutan’s glaciers have shrunk 22%, while Nepal’s...

Oops! Himalayan Glaciers May Not Be Melting So Fast

UN warning that they'll be gone by 2035 turns out to be bogus

(Newser) - Another alarming prediction about the pace of global warming—that the Himalayan glaciers will "very likely" have vanished by 2035—appears to be questionable at best. Turns out the warning 2 years ago from the UN's climate agency, the IPCC, was based on an 8-year-old story in a popular...

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