Page 39 - Bulletin_Vol.82 No.3_December 2023

In the vast Himalayan and Hindu Kush ranges, glaciers are a crucial source of water for
around 240 million people in mountainous regions, and for a further 1.65 billion people
in the river valleys of South Asia and South-East Asia.

Glaciers feed 10 of the world's most important river systems, including the Ganges,
Indus, Yellow, Mekong and Irrawaddy, and directly or indirectly provide billions of
people with food, energy, clean air and income.

Scientists say they are melting faster than ever before due to climate change, exposing
local communities to unpredictable and costly disasters. "I am here today to shout from
the roof of the world: stop this madness", said Antonio Guterres, speaking from the
village of Syangboche, with the frozen summit of Mount Everest, the highest in the
world, behind him. "The glaciers are retreating, but we cannot. We must put an end to
the era of fossil fuels", he declared.

"We must act now”

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the world is on
course to cross the critical threshold of 1.5°C warming above pre-industrial levels by the
early 2030s. Global warming has triggered a cascade of extreme weather events,
including more intense heat waves, more severe droughts and storms that have
become more violent as sea levels rise.

The hardest hit are the world's most vulnerable people and poorest countries, which
have contributed little to the fossil fuel emissions that drive global warming. "We must
act now to protect those on the front line and to limit the global temperature rise to 1.5
degrees, to avoid the worst of the climate chaos," said the UN chief. "The world cannot
wait".

Melting glaciers can trigger destructive floods of "lakes and rivers, sweeping away entire
communities", added the Portuguese. But if nothing changes, the glaciers will soon dry
up, he warned. "In the future, the great rivers" such as "the Indus, the Ganges and the
Brahmaputra", which have their source in the Himalayan heights, "could have
considerably reduced flows", he said. "This would spell disaster", the UN chief added.

Translation DEEPL, revision SPYCZAK VON BRZEZINSKA

AAFI-AFICS BULLETIN, Vol. 82 No.3, 2023-12 37

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