Rivers like the Ganges and Indus are fed mainly by the runoff from glaciers. Too much melting gives too much water, but devastating water stress in countries like India and Bangladesh is possible in prolonged dry periods in the longer term. Add to the picture increasing demand for water by people, agriculture, mining, and industry. Water scarcity in dry periods risks becoming a source of tensions within communities, countries, or in the case of transboundary waters: between countries.
Hi Alexander, it's going to be a warm sunny day here. The garden is waiting for me to do my thing . . .
Thank you for writing about one of the planets water reserves held in cold places. I have been to those places, what an experience!
I visited Moraine Lake, a beauty, and the Columbia Ice Fields.
The Columbia Ice Fields is the larges icefield in North America in the Canadian Rockies Mountains. I Walked a ways up the Athabasca Glacier, a finger of the ice fields, until it got to cold. Returned to the lower end and sat down at the foot of the glacier as I watched the meltwater gushing down. The meltwater looks like fat free milk. This glacier retreats at 5 meters(16.4 ft.) per year (current measurements?).
I Walked the terminal moraine at the snout (edge) of the glacier, which is covered with beautiful rocks and wild flowers. Warmed up in the Glacier View Lodge and returned to Lake Louise town. When you drive these local mountain roads you drive on the original glaciers beds, where glaciers back in time carved their way down also . . .
The Incredible Shrinking Glacier - August 10, 2018
Those graphics from the Guardian leave quite an impression. Thank you for sharing that.
I was aware of a few of them in Switzerland - especially the Oberaletsch glacier. We won't be affected be the sea-level rise, but if permafrost is lost, the Alps will crumble. This has already started. I'm not sure about water scarcity in relation to loss of glaciers in Switzerland. Something else to add to my list of things I want to look into. Thank you for this very informative and also quite sobering newsletter.
It’s unbelievable the dramatic changes that our planet is undergoing goes almost unnoticed by major news sources. The loss of glaciers, fires in the Arctic, extreme loss of the Rainforest, dramatic sea level rise that will have calamitous effects. All these things should be front page news but instead we hear about a celebrity breakup or the latest scandal. Thank you for being a trusted & reliable source for the genuinely important things *Everyone* should be reading & making a priority. As an American, I too, appreciate The Guardian for bringing these critical environmental crises to the forefront & depend on their coverage.
I have seen pictures of our Glacier National Park that showed what it looked like many years ago and now. The difference is striking. The climate is warming in the Northeast too. Vermont had a smaller maple syrup harvest because of the warmer winter. The warming will affect many species and affect the food supply also. Rising seas and severe storms are affecting islands all over the world. Nature can no longer be taken for granted.
Hi Alexander, it's going to be a warm sunny day here. The garden is waiting for me to do my thing . . .
Thank you for writing about one of the planets water reserves held in cold places. I have been to those places, what an experience!
I visited Moraine Lake, a beauty, and the Columbia Ice Fields.
The Columbia Ice Fields is the larges icefield in North America in the Canadian Rockies Mountains. I Walked a ways up the Athabasca Glacier, a finger of the ice fields, until it got to cold. Returned to the lower end and sat down at the foot of the glacier as I watched the meltwater gushing down. The meltwater looks like fat free milk. This glacier retreats at 5 meters(16.4 ft.) per year (current measurements?).
I Walked the terminal moraine at the snout (edge) of the glacier, which is covered with beautiful rocks and wild flowers. Warmed up in the Glacier View Lodge and returned to Lake Louise town. When you drive these local mountain roads you drive on the original glaciers beds, where glaciers back in time carved their way down also . . .
The Incredible Shrinking Glacier - August 10, 2018
https://epod.usra.edu/blog/2018/08/the-incredible-shrinking-glacier.html
Those graphics from the Guardian leave quite an impression. Thank you for sharing that.
I was aware of a few of them in Switzerland - especially the Oberaletsch glacier. We won't be affected be the sea-level rise, but if permafrost is lost, the Alps will crumble. This has already started. I'm not sure about water scarcity in relation to loss of glaciers in Switzerland. Something else to add to my list of things I want to look into. Thank you for this very informative and also quite sobering newsletter.
Hi Alexander, I learn something new from each of your posts! Thank you so much. 💐
It’s unbelievable the dramatic changes that our planet is undergoing goes almost unnoticed by major news sources. The loss of glaciers, fires in the Arctic, extreme loss of the Rainforest, dramatic sea level rise that will have calamitous effects. All these things should be front page news but instead we hear about a celebrity breakup or the latest scandal. Thank you for being a trusted & reliable source for the genuinely important things *Everyone* should be reading & making a priority. As an American, I too, appreciate The Guardian for bringing these critical environmental crises to the forefront & depend on their coverage.
I have seen pictures of our Glacier National Park that showed what it looked like many years ago and now. The difference is striking. The climate is warming in the Northeast too. Vermont had a smaller maple syrup harvest because of the warmer winter. The warming will affect many species and affect the food supply also. Rising seas and severe storms are affecting islands all over the world. Nature can no longer be taken for granted.