COP28 Video of the Week: “Disappearing Snow and Ice in the Hindu Kush Himalaya”

The snow and ice of the Hindu Kush Himalaya mountains supply seasonal freshwater to river basins that serve billions of people in Asia, but current emission trends and resulting warming have caused glaciers to shrink rapidly, posing severe threats to the region’s communities. This side event, organized by ICIMOD, examined the impact that cryosphere loss has on water resources, ecosystems and livelihoods. Glaciers shrank 65% faster in the 2010s than in the previous decade, and 80% of current glacier volume will vanish by 2100 with current high emissions trajectories. Vulnerable mountain communities are already suffering losses in lives, heritage, economy, and infrastructure, and negative impacts do and will cascade into countries downstream. Even if the Paris Agreement’s most ambitious 1.5°C goal is met, the region’s glaciers still will shrink by one-third, affecting 250 million mountain dwellers and 1.69 billion downstream: so for the HKH region, even 1.5°C should be considered “too high.”

Dr. Babar Khan of ICIMOD moderated this event. Speakers include Dr. Pem Narayan Kadel, Chief Policy Advisor at ICIMOD; Jamyang Jamtsho Wangchuk, Bhutan; Dr. Arun Bhakta Shrestha, Strategic Group Lead at ICIMOD; Dr. James Kirkham, Chief Science Advisor for AMI and ICCI; Dr. Ainun Nishat, former Vice-Chancellor of BRAC University; Dr. Toeb Karma, National Hydrology and Meteorology Center, Bhutan; Dr. Buddhi Pouel, Joint Secretary for the Ministry of Forests and Environment, Nepal; Dr. Zhang Yongxiang, China Meteorological Administration; Dr. Ahmad Kamal, Ministry of Water Resources, Pakistan; Dr. Nameeta Prasad, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, India; and Gerard Howe, Head of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, UK Government.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbyiovHPNqE