As those of us in mountainous regions have witnessed, even a rise of 1.5°C is too hot.
It is too hot for the glaciers and permafrost, which are melting at <a href="https://hkh.icimod.org/hi-wise/ice/" target="_blank">an unprecedented rate</a>, whilst changing snowfall, snowmelt and avalanches are becoming more unpredictable. It is too hot for our ecosystems, our food and water sources, and for our people. The ensuing impacts of food and water security will impact one-quarter of humanity living downstream.
With this crisis upon us, it is vital that regions of the world sharing similar challenges come together to also share knowledge, experience and solutions. The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), which works for the eight countries of the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH), and the Arctic Centre of the University of Lapland jointly held the first ever Inter-Polar Conference on 6-9 September in Kathmandu.
The Arctic polar region encompasses the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada, Denmark, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the United States. The Himalaya is sometimes referred to as the ‘Third Pole’ as it contains the largest area of permanent ice cover outside of the polar regions. It spans Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal and Pakistan.
Despite both the Arctic and the Himalaya experiencing a thawing cryosphere – frozen water at the earth’s surface including glacier, lake and river ice, permafrost and snow – these two regions have traditionally been considered separately.
The Inter-Polar Conference was held in collaboration with the UArctic Chair in Arctic Legal Research and Education, and Law Thematic Network, sought to unite representatives from the polar regions, and to serve as a networking platform to share commonalities, links, and differences, especially concerning geo-political, socio-cultural, environmental, and legal aspects.&nbsp;
ICIMOD drew on its substantial experience as a regional and international mediator to bring together policymakers from mountain regions to drive forward change.
The overarching message from this pioneering conference demonstrated the importance and power of global – and regional – cooperation and collaboration when dealing with the triple planetary crisis of climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss.
Representatives and researchers from the Himalaya-Hindu Kush learnt of the specific experience and history of the Arctic Council, which was set up in 1996 to understand environmental challenges and preserve the Arctic environment while promoting sustainable development, and to address issues of climate adaptation and resilience. It has since evolved to establish institutional and governmental mechanisms for sharing knowledge and scientific findings.
The conference’s keynote speakers sharing their insights on critical issues facing our polar regions included Timo Koivurova from Arctic Centre, University of Lapland, Akhilesh Gupta, Senior Adviser at the Department of Science and Technology Secretary, Science and Engineering Research Board, India, and Aisha Khan, Chief Executive of the Civil Society Coalition for Climate Change (CSCCC) in Pakistan.
The rich networking event sparked a series of interdisciplinary discussions with the aim of developing creative solutions, not least charting a clear roadmap for the Himalaya Hindu Kush to launch its own Regional Institutional Mechanism for the Third Pole.
A rise of 1.5°C is already too hot for the planet. As the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Arctic?src=hashtag_click" target="_blank">Arctic</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ThirdPole?src=hashtag_click" target="_blank">Third Pole</a> thaw, we need global unity to combat <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ClimateChange?src=hashtag_click" target="_blank">climate change</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AirPollution?src=hashtag_click" target="_blank">air pollution</a>, and <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/biodiversity?src=hashtag_click" target="_blank">biodiversity</a> loss. The Inter-Polar Conference was a crucial step towards building a shared knowledge network for positive change. We're joining forces and pushing for faster, ambitious emissions cuts to <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SaveOurSnow?src=hashtag_click" target="_blank">save our snow</a>s.
<h2>Three Poles</h2>
“The Arctic, as the Hindu Kush Himalaya, has seen its share of history. It is a place that connects everything together. Some years ago, we said the climate change in the Arctic is two times faster than the global average, then we said three times faster, then four. If we lose the Arctic, we lose the globe.”&nbsp;
Markku Heikkila, the Arctic Centre, University of Lapland 
 
“As we approach the critical 2030 deadline of limiting Global Warming to 1.5°C, the cryosphere, in particular, does not grant us the luxury of time. We must view it through a holistic lens that encompasses not only scientific considerations but also addresses the profound social, economic, and ecological impacts it entails.”
Aisha Khan, Civil Society Coalition for Climate Change, Pakistan 
 
“The Arctic is changing faster than any other region in the world affecting people's lives, not only in the Arctic but globally. We need to work together across the regions to be able to adopt and find solutions to save our snow and people's homelands.”
Kirsi Latola, University of the Arctic 
 
“Science and technology play a crucial role in building resilience against climate change in the Hindu Kush Himalaya. It's imperative to establish robust mitigation and adaptation measures grounded in both indigenous and evidence-based knowledge.”
Akhilesh Gupta, Science and Engineering Research Board, India 
 
“The science-driven approach of the Arctic Council has many benefits, empowering researchers and indigenous knowledge holders to actively shape inter-governmental policy decisions, ensuring that critical issues receive the attention and consideration they deserve.”&nbsp;
Timo Koivurova, Arctic Centre, University of Lapland
Pema Gymatsho is the Director General of the &nbsp;International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) in Kathmandu.

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The Arctic meets the Himalaya

Climate finance conversations are usually dominated by ways to fund switching to renewable energy, clean transportation and waste management. However, in the past few years there have been urgent calls to also finance adaptation, resilience, as well as loss and damage.&nbsp;
This is a much-needed shift as the impact of the climate crisis is being increasingly being felt worldwide, and the IPCC reports have been presenting more and more alarming scenarios year after year, so much so that reality has outpaced projections.
Public financing is often placed at the heart of finding funding to adapt and build resilience. The most notable example is the <a href="https://www.adaptation-fund.org/about/" target="_blank">Adaptation Fund</a> which has allocated over $850 million for projects and programs that help vulnerable communities in developing countries adjust to climate-induced impact.
Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/nepali-cities-must-champion-climate-action" target="_blank">Nepali cities must champion climate action</a>, Rastraraj Bhandari and Simone Weichenrieder
However, public financing alone is simply not enough to meet the increasing demand for adaptation and resilience finance. Presently, only <a href="https://www.wri.org/insights/private-sector-climate-adaptation-finance" target="_blank">around 10% of overall climate finance</a> flows are allocated to climate adaptation even as the figure for developing countries needs to increase by 5 to 10 times. Within this, only <a href="https://www.wri.org/insights/private-sector-climate-adaptation-finance" target="_blank">around 2% of adaptation finance</a> comes from the private sector such as corporations and institutional investors whereas 98% were from public sources.
Private sector engagement and financing in climate adaptation and resilience is imperative if the world is to stand any chance in tackling the climate crisis. This is particularly relevant in the Himalaya as the conversations around the Third Pole Process, spearheaded by the U.A.E government as the COP28 presidency, continue.
The <a href="https://www.arcticcircle.org/third-pole-process" target="_blank">Third Pole Process</a> has been labelled as a comprehensive effort to introduce the Arctic model of collaboration to the Third Pole region. The process is expected to be a sustained effort to define the challenge, to initiate research collaboration, and to help identify effective dissemination of information to enable political deliberations and policy-making. Although engaging the political establishments across the region will indeed be crucial, leaving out the private sector will be a missed opportunity for the Third Pole Process.
Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/green-is-the-colour-of-money-and-nature" target="_blank">Green is the colour of money and nature</a>, Angel Li
This is easier said than done. There are fundamental barriers to attracting private sector engagement in adaptation and resilience financing, given the challenges with private financial returns. However, this discourse is picking up globally and efforts are underway to mobilise private sector investments.
Innovating financing mechanisms such as through the use of guarantees, co-financing, de-risking and blended finance can definitely help <a href="https://www.wri.org/insights/private-sector-climate-adaptation-finance" target="_blank">leverage the scarce public finance resources</a> to catalyse private sector finance.
Insurance companies can also play a key role as risk managers, risk carriers and investors. Traditionally, private insurers avoided insuring for disasters, in part because those who are insured are less likely to flood-proof their assets and only those at high risk of flooding will purchase insurance.
Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/news/turning-green-policies-into-greenbacks" target="_blank">Turning green policies into greenbacks</a>, Rastraraj Bhandari
Yet, with a growing insurance market, <a href="https://content.naic.org/cipr-topics/parametric-disaster-insurance#:~:text=The%20term%20parametric%20insurance%20describes,in%20a%20traditional%20indemnity%20policy." target="_blank">parametric insurance</a> and risk pooling may overcome these challenges. In addition, exposing the risk vulnerability of the private sector such as through mandatory climate risk assessment and disclosure requirements as regulatory measures may also increase private sector investments for their own long-term stability.
In addition to financing, the private sector also has access to innovative technologies, both digital and physical technologies, which is often a forgotten yet crucial detail. The Himalaya are home to global tech giants such as Baidu, Tencent, Infosys and Alibaba, who have <a href="https://www.himalayanwaterproject.org/post/tackling-climate-and-water-challenges-in-the-himalayas-using-ai" target="_blank">immense potential to contribute to the battle against climate change</a> not just by reducing their own operational footprint but also by developing, deploying and diffusing climate technologies, including with regards to adaptation and resilience.
The Third Pole Process can foster private sector engagement for adaptation and resilience in the Himalaya. Initiating a dialogue as well as research collaboration can be a key first step but it is imperative to ensure that such research is translated into evidence and impact-based action.
Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/nepal-can-lead-in-zero-carbon/" target="_blank">Nepal can lead in zero-carbon, </a>Nicola Pollitt
Outside of such multilateral processes, both national and sub-national governments also have a role in fostering private-sector engagement. Many of the countries in the Himalaya are making progress with greening their financial systems and creating guidelines for banks and financial institutions. Such efforts should also look into how adaptation and resilience can be incorporated in an otherwise climate mitigation-dominated space.
It is high time to scale both public and private finance for adaptation and resilience in the Himalaya, and only such coordinated efforts can ensure that the financing needs of the region are met in an inclusive manner.
Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepals-chance-to-green-its-budget/" target="_blank">Nepal’s chance to green its budget</a>, Kaustubh Dhital
Rastraraj Bhandari works on climate finance and carbon markets, and contributes regularly to Nepali Times on issues related to climate change.

Finding money to save the Third Pole

A 7.8 magnitude earthquake in 1255 shook the entire Himalayan region, Tibetan plateau and northern India. We know the exact date because there are historical records that one-third of the population of Kathmandu was killed, including King Abhaya Malla. At about this time, in central Nepal the entire western flank of Annapurna 4 broke off and fell into the glacier below, damming the Seti River gorge and covering the basin in pulverised rock and melting ice. Geologists have known that it was a debris flow on the Seti that formed the terraces of sediment in Pokhara Valley, but <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06040-5">a recent paper</a> in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06040-5">Nature</a> has for the first time described just how cataclysmic this event was and that it could happen again. The rockslide was so enormous that it chopped off 500m of the top of the paleo-summit of Annapurna 4, which means the mountain was at one time an eight-thousander. The peak is now 7,525m, and scientists estimate that 23 km3 of rock fell nearly 3,000 vertical metres into the Sabche Cirque with terrific kinetic energy. The study titled Medieval Demise of a Himalayan Giant Summit Induced by Mega-landslide has Jérôme Lavé of CNRS, Université de Lorraine in France as lead author, and includes among others Ananta Prasad Gajurel of the Department of Geology, Tribhuvan University. Although the study is an investigation into ways in which Himalayan mountains erode along their glaciers and headwalls, it takes as a case study the Annapurna 4 rockfall in approximately 1190CE. &nbsp;&nbsp; ‘Our data suggest that a mode of high-altitude erosion could be mega-rockslides, leading to the sudden reduction of ridge-crest elevation by several hundred metres and ultimately preventing the disproportionate growth of Himalayan peaks,’ the introduction to the paper notes, suggesting that the erosion of the peaks could happen in sudden ridge collapses and not just through mass wasting.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230718150720_d574c8ddc7596812293db6982abe17a0cb4005d5ed9c4c8d81b64f93af064c07.png" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20230718150720_d574c8ddc7596812293db6982abe17a0cb4005d5ed9c4c8d81b64f93af064c07" data-rendition-name="original" width="1806" height="1698" loading="lazy" alt="Pokhara Valley"> <figcaption>Nepali Times issue #704 of 2 May 2012 analysing the rockfall of 2012. Read the story: https://issuu.com/nepalitimes/docs/nepali_times__705</figcaption> </figure>  The scientists examined the debris in the Sabche Cirque which in the past 800 years has eroded into sharp limestone pinnacles with exposed glacier-polished bedrock below. They conclude that the breccia came down in the collapse of Annapurna 4. In their paper, Lavé et al have sketched models of the mountain as it probably existed before its collapse, showing where the immediate debris fell, and where it was eventually transported downstream by the Seti River to create the 200m deep sediment fan on which the city of Pokhara is located today. The deposits brought down by the river dammed side streams, creating Phewa, Rupa, Begnas and other lakes that make the valley so scenic today. The Nature paper says the catastrophic Sabche rockslide has lessons for present-day Nepal: ‘Giant rockslides also have implications for landscape evolution and natural hazards: the massive supply of finely crushed sediments can fill valleys more than 150 km farther downstream and overwhelm the sediment load in Himalayan rivers for a century or more.’ Indeed, the summit ridge of Annapurna 4 is still raw and sees frequent rockfalls, including a smaller one almost <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Anatom-of-a-Himalayan-tsunami,1330">exactly at the same spot in May 201</a>2 and an ensuing flood on the Seti River that killed at least 70 people downstream near Pokhara. Although the authors do not seem to think the rockslide 800 years ago was caused by a seismic event, there are records of big earthquakes in central Nepal in 1223, 1255 and five years later in 1260, which approximately fit the timeline of the scientists for the Sabche event.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230718150720_be91b7bfe18290a2f0bbc16e263413ee5994d0bf2656a58719d4252cc306ef9a.png" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20230718150720_be91b7bfe18290a2f0bbc16e263413ee5994d0bf2656a58719d4252cc306ef9a" data-rendition-name="original" width="1231" height="809" loading="lazy" alt="Annapurna Pokhara Valley"> <figcaption>Google 3D map of the Annapurnas, showing Annapurna 4 before its collapse in an event 800 years ago, as proposed by scientists recently in a paper in the journal Nature. This satellite image taken in October 2017 shows dust from a more recent rockfall in 2012.</figcaption> </figure>  Even if the rockfall was not directly caused by an earthquake, the differential in the pace of erosion of the glacial valley and the headwall could eventually lead to failure of overhanging slopes. Scientists have speculated that climate change-induced melting of the permafrost that cements rocks together above the 0oC isotherm could have been a factor in the <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Anatom-of-a-Himalayan-tsunami,1330">2012 collapse on Annapurna IV</a> and on <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-s-mountains-are-melting">Saldim Peak in the Makalu-Barun in 2017</a>.

Kunda Dixit

Pokhara 800 years ago

An exhibit at the Swiss Alpine Museum here last month was a stark reminder of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-s-mountains-are-melting">how fast the mountains are changing </a>due to climate breakdown.&nbsp; In the Après-Lift exhibition, author Daniel Anker documented the disappearance of Europe's once-popular <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=2837">skiing</a> culture, with the sport moving higher up the mountains due to global warming. The Tête de Ran skilift built in 1942 shut down in 2010, another one in Aargau was dismantled because of the lack of snow. The Col de Montvoie skilift was shut because making artificial snow became too costly. For many Swiss like avid climber and skier Fritz Indermühle, this has made it harder to enjoy a favourite past-time. He says, “I remember Silberhorn used to be completely white, now it is an unrecognisable black rock.”&nbsp; Many in Nepal who have also seen the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/if-the-ice-is-gone-we-are-done">ice disappear on Himalayan peaks</a> will find this familiar. Mt Machapuchre was a rocky black pyramid this winter, even though it is nearly 7,000m high. Indeed, across the Alps and the Himalaya, the climate crisis is no longer an apocalyptic theme in a science fiction novel. It is <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/human-face-of-a-himalayan-climate-crisis">happening within a generation</a> in front of the eyes of people living in the foothills of both mountain ranges. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/political-environment">Political environment</a>, Editorial&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230605170636_edc453e2f021e3ef860a36a0f10e81d0b697e116333ee0765e09c32e955d8c21.png" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20230605170636_edc453e2f021e3ef860a36a0f10e81d0b697e116333ee0765e09c32e955d8c21" data-rendition-name="original" width="530" height="355" loading="lazy" alt="Alps and the Himalaya NT 2"> <figcaption>The Grosse Aletschgletscher in 1978 (above) and in 2015 (below).</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230605170636_cef5682ed7e730a45ae95eedd7b9fbb1cdb18faf32616fbb620e758755004203.png" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20230605170636_cef5682ed7e730a45ae95eedd7b9fbb1cdb18faf32616fbb620e758755004203" data-rendition-name="original" width="531" height="355" loading="lazy" alt="Alps and the Himalaya NT 3"> </figure>  &nbsp;"In both the Alps and the Himalaya, climate change is having a devastating effect,” says Pema Gyamtsho, Director General of the International Centre for Integrated Mountains Development (ICIMOD) who is a former politician from Bhutan and did his PhD at the Eidgenössische Technische &nbsp;Hochschule (ETH) in Zürich. He adds, “Alpine glaciers are melting as fast as in the Himalaya, snowfall patterns are erratic, and transboundary issues in Europe have become more important because of the socio-economic impact of melting ice.“&nbsp; <a href="https://www.icimod.org">ICIMOD</a> and the Alpine Convention are now sharing their cryosphere research and pushing the mountain agenda at climate summits, including COP28 in Dubai in November. &nbsp; Scientists from the <a href="https://www.glamos.ch/en/">Glacier Monitoring Switzerland (GLAMOS)</a> have found that the Alps have lost 30-50% of their ice mass in the last decade. Even more melting is expected this year because of forecast heat waves in Europe.&nbsp; Compared to the Himalaya, Alpine glaciers appear to be in even more trouble because of reduced winter snow accumulation, record summer heat, and deposition of wind-blown sand from the Sahara.&nbsp; Matthias Huss of GLAMOS has taken to social media to urge global action to limit greenhouse gas emissions, and shows through dramatic graphics that it is still not too late to act. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/stairway-to-heaven">Stairway to Heaven</a>, Sumin Bajracharya <div class="embed-block"><div><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"><iframe src="//cdn.iframe.ly/api/iframe?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fembed%2FzZ8daHVc95Q&key=87ca3314a9fa775b5c3a7726100694b0" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen scrolling="no" allow="accelerometer *; clipboard-write *; encrypted-media *; gyroscope *; picture-in-picture *; web-share *;"></iframe></div></div></div> He writes: “If we manage to limit global warming to 1.5°C or 2°C, we can still save about a third of the volume of Alpine glaciers.” It is easier to see the change in the Alps compared to the Himalaya since the first daguerreotype of Matterhorn was made in 1849, whereas the first photographs of the north slope of Mt Everest were only taken in 1921. The photographs of the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/review/stories-of-nepal-s-summiteers">Alps</a> are shocking before-after images of receding snowlines and shrinking glaciers. In the Alps, one of the most vivid examples of glacial retreat is found in the Great Aletsch Glacier which used to be 14km long and 800m thick, once storing 20% of all the ice in the Alps.&nbsp; The Great Aletsch is visibly shorter and thinner today compared to photographs taken by the author in 1979. Alpine glaciers are not just melting, scientists say, the thaw is accelerating. Some of them have lost up to three times more ice mass just in 2022 than in the last ten years.&nbsp; Just as there are now occasional meltpools at the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/measuring-mt-everest-because-it-is-there">South Col</a> of Mt Everest, and a river runs through the Khumbu Glacier at Base Camp, in Switzerland icefalls have turned into waterfalls in just three decades.&nbsp; Scientists say that at present rates of ice loss in the Alps, Jungfraujoch on the saddle between the four-thousanders Jungfrau and Mönch will have no snow left by the end of the century.&nbsp; The Alps are older, they are more stable geologically, but since they are at a higher latitude the snowline is at 2,700m, compared to 5,000-6,000 in the Himalaya. &nbsp;&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/cycling-to-cop28">Cycling to COP28</a>, Shristi Karki  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023060511068_058940232efefd33aa326e540ac1d8ad1bbcba13f112b7c55a800247c1725031.jpg" data-media-id="editor_14" data-image-id="2023060511068_058940232efefd33aa326e540ac1d8ad1bbcba13f112b7c55a800247c1725031" data-rendition-name="original" width="526" height="381" loading="lazy" alt="Alps and the Himalaya NT 3"> <figcaption>The author with backdrop of Eiger (3,967m) in 1978, and the same mountain in the same season in 2020.</figcaption> </figure>  &nbsp;&nbsp;But just as European countries downstream depend on water that originate from Alpine glaciers, nearly 2 billion people in Asia <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-climate-crisis-is-a-water-crisis-in-the-himalaya">rely on the water towers of the Himalaya </a>and Hindu Kush feeding rivers. As glaciers thaw in the Alps, they are exposing human remains entombed in ice. Items from an Air India Boeing 707 that crashed into Mont Blanc on approach to Geneva in 1966 have emerged in Chamonix, including newspapers, an Indian diplomatic pouch, and jewelry. &nbsp; Computer modelling at the ETH Zurich and the University of Freiburg by Matthias Huss and his team have shown that even if greenhouse emissions are capped at 1.5°C the terminus of the Great Aletsch Glacier will still lose half its volume and recede 10km from where it is now during this century. But if the global average temperature continues to rise, the glacier will be replaced by a large lake.&nbsp; Because of its location amidst some of the richest countries in the world, governments here are better placed to cope with an Alpine meltdown than countries bordering the Himalaya. The impact on skiing will be an inconvenience. Even so, a fall in water levels of the Rhine and other rivers can have serious economic consequences.&nbsp; Says ICIMOD’s Pema Gyamtsho: “Alpine ecosystems are relatively well managed as compared to the Himalayan ones. We in the Himalaya are still a long way from reaching that level of development.” &nbsp;&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/for-destruction-ice-is-also-great-and-will-suffice">For destruction, ice is also great and will suffice</a>, Sonia Awale

In high places

Some 15 million people worldwide are at risk from flooding caused by glacial lakes, half of them in India, China, Pakistan and Peru, according to the latest study published in the journal Nature Communications. As the most densely populated mountain country in the world, Nepal is at higher risk. Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs) in the Nepal Himalaya can be even more catastrophic for towns along valley floors as well as downstream infrastructure. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/climate-smarter-himalayan-infrastructure">What happened in Melamchi </a>in July 2021 is a sign of things to come. Nepal’s largest infrastructure project to supply water to Kathmandu was nearly destroyed by a massive debris flow after a cloudburst upstream in the Langtang National Park. “What make GLOFs worse in Nepal is that they are often combined with the monsoon,” explains watershed expert Madhukar Upadhyay. “Every year we have seasonal floods. When a weakened moraine is breached, more water is added to already swollen rivers. Making matters worse is high-intensity rainfall in higher altitudes as we saw in Manang in 2022.”&nbsp; Read more: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/climate-risk-to-hydropower-investment/">Climate risk to hydropower investment</a>, Ajaya Dixit  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230602040624_e60a90be970842d53f6e236b1a59612c82aa035635a3ae4838481a31710f1446.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20230602040624_e60a90be970842d53f6e236b1a59612c82aa035635a3ae4838481a31710f1446" data-rendition-name="original" width="853" height="640" loading="lazy" alt="Melamchi amage NT"> <figcaption>The damage from a massive debris flow on the Melamchi River in June 2021 to the channel diverting water from the Melamchi to the tunnel at the project headwork. Photo: SHIVA BASKOTA</figcaption> </figure>  Scientists say that the permafrost binding loose moraine material is also melting, and without the cementing action of the ice the moraine walls can collapse easily in heavy precipitation. Rain falling where there used to be snow is making matters worse.&nbsp; <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/living-below-nepal-s-melting-mountains">The Himalaya is melting</a> faster than the global average, and even in the best-case scenario, the mountains will lose more than one-third of their ice by 2100.&nbsp; A paper published in the journal Climate and Atmospheric Science last year revealed that the rate of ice loss on the South Col of Mt Everest is shocking: what took 2,000 years to accumulate is melting in a mere 25 years.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/tracing-past-glacial-floods-in-kangchenjunga/">Tracing past glacial floods in Kanchanjunga</a>, Alton C Byers  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230602040632_f3e5d9e3eb4dca842d715afab7ee68899e0fa3c0d2f9f039d9b288b1492f4955.png" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20230602040632_f3e5d9e3eb4dca842d715afab7ee68899e0fa3c0d2f9f039d9b288b1492f4955" data-rendition-name="original" width="891" height="500" loading="lazy" alt="Map"> </figure>  There are 3,252 glacial lakes in Nepal, including the Khumbu Glacier where Base Camp is now 50m lower than when Hillary and Tenzing climbed Everest<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/everest-70-years-on"> seventy years ago</a>.&nbsp; Imja was a debris covered glacier on trekking maps even 25 years ago, but is now a 2km long lake. Tso Rolpa glacial lake at 4,580m in the Rolwaling Valley has grown seven times in size in the past 60 years. “There is a lot of evidence that the number of glacier lakes in Nepal and worldwide is increasing,” says Miriam Jackson, glaciologist with the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD). “The size of existing lakes is also increasing. For example, the area of glacier lakes increased by 12% in the Kosi basin and 8% in the Gandaki basin.” The water level in Imja has been lowered by 3.4m and by 3m in Tso Rolpa at a cost of $7.2 million and $9 million respectively. Scientists now say the water level in Tso Rolpa needs to go down by another 20m to reduce risk of bursting. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/danger-nepal-s-glacial-lakes-are-filling-up">DANGER: Nepal’s glacial lakes are filling up</a>  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230602040628_4ac8ea629de0f69bfb27fe9b783f126c7eea6dcadda7e812436d393d7c21c13e.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20230602040628_4ac8ea629de0f69bfb27fe9b783f126c7eea6dcadda7e812436d393d7c21c13e" data-rendition-name="original" width="1843" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Imja lake NT"> <figcaption>A frozen Imja Lake looking east from the outlet. Photo: SHARAD JOSHI</figcaption> </figure>  There are other potentially dangerous lakes like Thulagi below Himalchuli, and new lakes are emerging on both sides of the Himalaya in China and Nepal that have not even been mapped. Nepal’s glaciers are shrinking three times faster than in 1998 and Jackson says that the possibility of flooding, whether from glacial lakes or other sources, is taken into account when building close to the rivers. When Nepal’s only reservoir project on the Kulekhani was commissioned in 1982, engineers had designed it to function for 100 years. But a cloudburst in the catchment area in 1993 deposited so much debris into the lake that its lifespan was reduced by 30 years. “Melamchi and Kulekhani are proof that the entire Himalayan region including Nepal are not suited for mega projects. Our focus and investment should instead be on multiple small-scale projects spread out across the country,” says watershed expert Madhukar Upadhyay. As for infrastructure already under construction, there are several mitigating measures that can be deployed, such as early warning and real-time information systems in the catchment area, not only about rainfall but GLOFs and landslide blocked rivers. Experts say Nepal and the countries in the Himalaya should not overlook the phenomenon of permafrost melting that is making the mountains and moraines much more prone to erosion. Permafrost is a thick subsurface layer of frozen soil that is generally not visible and thus harder to identify. Besides Melamchi, thawing permafrost is thought to have been partly responsible for the Chamoli disaster in the Indian Himalaya in 2021. Read also: <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=2391#.XoyO8MgzbIU">The day after tomorrow in the Himalaya</a>, Navin Singh Khadka “Generally, moraines have an ice core, which is one reason why moraine-dammed lakes are so dangerous. The ice could be hundreds or even thousands of years old and melt very slowly but the moraine is constantly settling,” explains Jackson. “Thawing permafrost makes mountains unstable, thus causing rockfalls. If there is a landslide into a glacier lake, then that could trigger a flood.” GLOFs also have a transboundary dimension since so many of Nepal’s rivers and their tributaries originate in glaciers in Tibet. Of the 47 high-risk glacial lakes in Nepal, 20 of them start in Tibet (see map, below). Mitigating measures such as artificially lowering the water level are expensive which makes cross-border early warning of GLOFs so crucial. ICIMOD has launched the Kosi Initiative with a transboundary working group collaborating with the Chengdu-based Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment (IMHE) and others. It has also done computer modelling of flood hazard and an assessment called WeACT that integrates local knowledge with science to improve community preparedness. But GLOF risk can be reduced if vulnerable communities are aware of the danger, are given decision-making powers and have the resources to be prepared, as has been seen in Chunkung in Khumbu and Langtang, where villagers are adapting to climate change by building embankments on their own, and avoiding construction along river banks. Says Madhukar Upadhyay: “We need to strengthen our local science to better understand the geology and glaciology, make local communities and the national government aware of the dangers and take the risk into account in building settlements, hydropower plants, bridges and roads.” &nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/human-face-of-a-himalayan-climate-crisis/">Human face of a Himalayan climate crisis</a>, Rastraraj Bhandari

Sonia Awale

For destruction, ice is also great and will suffice

This year marks the 50th anniversary of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/review/norway-nepal-a-love-story">diplomatic relations between Norway and Nepal</a>, and also the 60th anniversary of cooperation with Nepal in renewable energy. Our people-to-people contacts go back even further. Now, Nepal and Norway have renewed their joint commitment to mitigate and adapt to climate change.
Norway and the regional partnership of ICIMOD (International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development) are also long-term partners. Since 1993, Norway has been working with ICIMOD through its Nepal headquarter to develop better solutions for the Hindu Kush Himalaya region to address challenges related to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-climate-crisis-is-a-water-crisis-in-the-himalaya">climate change</a> on poverty alleviation. We have been partnering with ICIMOD for 30 years, and this week we signed a new agreement for continued support.
Norway and Nepal <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/orchestrating-cross-cultural-collaboration">are geographically far apart</a>, but as countries close to one of the three poles we share commonalities. Not least when it comes to the effects of climate change. The Hindu Kush Himalaya and the Arctic are affected by climate change; snow, ice and glaciers are melting, and the frozen land is tawing - changing the ecosystems and impacting the way of life for the people living in these areas.
The triple planetary crises of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution are <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/we-have-not-respected-the-fragility-of-the-himalaya">amplified in the Hindu Kush Himalaya</a>. Pollution originating from Southeast Asia is affecting both the Himalaya and the Arctic due to long range transport by the wind. Global action is needed to reduce these effects to save nature and the people living there.
The Hindu Kush Himalaya stretches across eight Asian countries from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, to Pakistan. The rivers that flow from this mountain range support the lives and livelihoods of nearly two billion people living downstream.
An incredible diversity of flora and fauna provides a range of ecosystem services. A region of extraordinary diversity of peoples, topology, and nature, holds the largest reserves of fresh water outside the polar regions largely in the form of frozen water. That is why it is known as the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-third-pole-is-warming-faster-than-expected">Water Tower of Asia</a>. &nbsp;&nbsp;
The Norway-ICIMOD partnership is rooted in a shared affection for mountains, affection for the people that live in the mountains, and the opportunities that come from sustainable use of the mountains, for instance in hydropower and farming.
The partnership focuses on increased resilience of <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Recharging-the-mountains,3465">farming practices to a changing climate</a>, the revival of drying springs, the protection of fragile mountain ecosystems, and assessment and reduction of disaster risk.
The Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate will continue its collaboration with ICIMOD on important scientific work in the field to monitor changes in snow cover and glacier melt on a twice-annual basis – building upon the work done over the past eight years.
By setting up the world’s only monitoring stations above 5,000m, our teams have created a unique repository of knowledge: both for those living in the Himalaya and for policymakers and analysts of climate change worldwide.
As we have seen with the catastrophic floods in Pakistan last year, the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/news/the-monsoon-mess-in-melamchi">flood disaster at Melamchi</a> the year before, and the unseasonal heat waves that engulfed much of Asia last month, the climate crisis is an emergency for the region. The time to act is now.&nbsp;
Climate impact is already compounding the extreme hardships borne by so many families across countries in this region, where an unacceptable 30% of people face food insecurity and half experience some form of malnutrition. As the impact of temperature rise accelerates, compromising water security, agriculture, children’s capacity to study, and people’s ability to work and increasing the risks of natural hazards, the challenges of everyday life are only set to intensify. &nbsp;
With the support of Norway, ICIMOD will be able to significantly increase its efforts to protect the people and ecosystems that are central to our mission, ultimately improving the region's ability to withstand future risks.&nbsp;
The Government of Norway and ICIMOD are united in the belief that not one institution can solve the challenges the world faces alone. But by leveraging vast breadth of knowledge, scope of work, and historical data, we stand ready to support the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/terrifying-assessment-of-a-himalayan-melting">Hindu Kush Himalaya</a> transition to a greener, more inclusive, and climate-resilient region. &nbsp;
Through this catalytic partnership, we set out to ensure the protection of many more communities, habitats, and species – safeguarding this unique and precious region for generations to come.
As we celebrate the 50-year milestone of diplomatic relations between Norway and Nepal, as well as 30 years of collaboration with ICIMOD, we are happy that the partnerships remain strong, and we are committed to further deepening our cooperation in the years to come.
Anne Beathe Tvinnereim is Minister of International Development of Norway, and Pema Gyamtsho is Director General, ICIMOD.

Anne Beathe Tvinnereim

Pema Gyamtsho

Norway supports Himalayan climate research

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230228150232/63fe10889c7e80680e0da49ejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"/><figcaption>Photo: Kunda Dixit</figcaption></figure>As global warming melts glaciers across the planet, governments and environmentalists from the Arctic Circle to the Himalaya are getting together to cope with the crises to come.The Himalaya is called ‘The Third Pole’ because it is <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-climate-crisis-is-a-water-crisis-in-the-himalaya/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the largest source of water</a> stored as ice after the polar regions. But unlike the Arctic and Antarctica, the Himalayan mountains is also the source of fresh water for about 2 billion people living downstream.The climate crisis is causing the Himalayan ice cap and its <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/walking-the-talk-on-climate/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">glaciers to heat up</a> 0.7oCelsius faster than the global average. Scientists predict at the current rate of warming, two-thirds of the remaining ice will be gone during this century.Fragile mountain communities are also affected by weather extremes like intense torrential downpours that unleash flashfloods, prolonged droughts, erratic monsoons, and glacial lake outburst floods. Unable to cope, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/unthinkable-in-the-current-climate/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">climate refugees</a> are migrating from the region.Countries in the Himalaya and Tibetan Plateau have tried to work together to adapt to climate-induces crises, but geopolitical tensions have stymied these efforts. Clashes often erupt between India and China along their disputed Himalayan border. India and Pakistan have fought multiple wars since independence from Britain in 1947.However, the region could learn from the experience of the Arctic nations which also suffer from geopolitical tension, and are losing sea ice and the <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=18353#.Y9uPMHZBy3A" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id%3D18353%23.Y9uPMHZBy3A&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1675503971358000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2lZPFIHYZpjMzJXHaiyr0J">Greenland ice sheet</a>.“When we started the Arctic cooperation more than 25 years ago, Russia was coming out of the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the Cold War just ended,” recalls Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, who served as Iceland’s president from 1996-2016, and is now chair of the <a href="https://www.arcticcircle.org/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.arcticcircle.org/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1675503971358000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2oTDkFQnYy8E4yaKOiUoSk">Arctic Circle</a> initiative.Still, the Arctic nations, Russia, United States, Iceland, Greenland, Canada, Norway, Sweden, and Finland were collaborating right up to the Russian invasion of Ukraine last year.The Arctic and the Himalayan regions are similar because of their dependence on the cryosphere. While the Arctic has global powers like the US and Russia and smaller countries such as Iceland, Sweden, Finland, and Norway, the Himalayan region is dominated by China and India together with smaller <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/mustang-forced-to-adapt-to-climate-crisis/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">mountainous countries like Nepal</a> and Bhutan.In the Arctic, both the United States and Russia came to a joint realisation 25 years ago that they would both be affected by the melting of the ice in the Arctic. In fact, President Grímsson played a key role in mediating between the two superpowers.The Arctic Circle, since its founding in 2013, has demonstrated that multilevel cooperation in the Arctic is possible through its annual assembly in Iceland composed of over 2,000 experts and scientists from 70 countries.Apart from scientific and diplomatic cooperation, the Arctic Circle model also highlights the need to engage and include indigenous people, those who have inhabited the region for thousands of years.There have been attempts to link the Arctic and the Himalaya. In fact in 2012, Grimsson initiated the <a href="https://www.arcticcircle.org/third-pole-himalaya-the-process" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.arcticcircle.org/third-pole-himalaya-the-process&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1675503971358000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2Q_4aEmYnDhmpSiBFW7ynj">Third Pole Environment Program</a>  with the University of Iceland, and later with India and Bhutan.The Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) served an important role in highlighting the impact of climate collapse on the mountains with the landmark 2019 publication, <a href="https://lib.icimod.org/record/34383" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://lib.icimod.org/record/34383&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1675503971358000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2cXSFwBeYFCu4F63lfcrX2">Hindu Kush Himalaya Assessment</a>.“However, efforts so far have been isolated,” Grimsson says. “They have not produced a systematic engagement at the highest level, which is why we have this initiative.”The host of this year’s Climate Summit (COP28), the United Arab Emirates, has decided to co-host the <a href="https://www.arcticcircle.org/third-pole-process" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.arcticcircle.org/third-pole-process&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1675503971358000&amp;usg=AOvVaw12rgY8FIl7gw2HFgmP7L5f">Third Pole Process</a> with the Arctic Circle to support collaboration and learning from the Arctic on regional cooperation and glacial studies.At COP27 in Sharm Al Sheikh in November, the UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment and the Arctic Circle hosted a dialogue on the Third Pole Process.About the next steps, the UAE’s Minister of Climate Change and Environment Mariam Al Mheiri told us: “What is really important is to convene the leaders of the Himalayan countries together to talk about how we can build, hopefully, a framework around the Third Pole Process.”The 2023 Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week last month was themed ‘Uniting the Global Community on the Road to Net-Zero: an Inclusive Energy Transition’, hoping to maintain momentum between COP27 and COP28.Grimsson is also hopeful that the initiative will enable not only Himalayan countries, but also the world to understand better the dramatic consequences of the melting of the glaciers in High Asia.The New York University Abu Dhabi’s eArtHumanities initiative, in collaboration with Rachel Carson Center, has also been working on the <a href="https://www.himalayanwaterproject.org/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.himalayanwaterproject.org/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1675503971358000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2tRmDDmfBxD6Wg7t1NKYpC">Geopolitics and Ecology of Himalayan Water </a>project dealing with the climate and geopolitical hotspot.“This can be a fascinating new way for universities to create multidisciplinary cooperation in order to understand this important part of the world,” Grimsson says of the initiative.While international environmentalists have called the world’s top exporter of fossil fuel hosting a climate summit, and the head of it oil company being named president of COP28 as a “greenwash”, others have said it shows the need to engage with all partners.Indeed, Grimsson says: “This is a signal that the UAE is approaching the climate crisis in a new way”.The Arctic model of cooperation showed that it is possible to come together on the climate crisis despite geopolitical tension, and this holds important lessons for <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-third-pole-is-warming-faster-than-expected/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Third Pole</a>.

From the North Pole to the Third Pole

<figure><a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Page-6-7-NT-1.jpg" data-elementor-open-lightbox="yes" data-elementor-lightbox-title="Page 6-7 NT 1"> <img width="3999" height="301" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230208140212/63e39ff09c7e80680e0d7014jpeg.jpg" alt=""/></a> <figcaption> Full panorama of the Himalaya as seen on a clear day from Sunakothi on the southern outskirts of Kathmandu Valley, from Annapurna in the west to Numbur on the east. Photo: BINOD KRISHNA SHRESTHA</figcaption></figure><figure><a href="https://archivenepal.s3.amazonaws.com/nepalitimes/book/Nepali_Times_1144/index.html#page=6" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> <img width="1603" height="800" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230208140212/63e39ff49c7e80680e0d7015jpeg.jpg" alt=""></a> <figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Binod Krishna Shrestha remembers in the 1970s seeing foreign visitors to Nepal being mesmerised by the vista of mountains to the north of Kathmandu.They used to ask him the names of the individual peaks. He was embarrassed to admit that he had no idea which was which.So, in 1975 he started working on a panorama of the mountains, identifying the individual Himalayan peaks. He was helped by journalist Kunda Dixit, who sketched and identified the peaks as seen from Patan, and took it to Delhi to print a brochure.The folder also had captions providing information on which expeditions had climbed the peaks, and it was later useful for celebrations by the Ministry of Tourism marking the 30th anniversary of the first ascent of Mt Everest in 1983.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-mountains-are-melting/">Nepal’s mountains are melting</a>, Alton C Byers <figure><img width="720" height="477" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230208140212/63e39ff89c7e80680e0d7016jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>After this, Shrestha was involved in rural development projects and trekked across Nepal, and this brought him up close and personal with the mountains he had been seeing from Kathmandu.He also visited other countries and took up philately, all along keeping up his interest in knowing Nepal’s mountains.He found that Mt Everest is depicted in 84 postage stamps of 46 countries. And Nepal’s other mountains are on 41 other postage stamps of various countries. Shrestha collected these stamps, and brought out a book, Nepal Himalaya: The Roof of the World on Postage Stamps.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/it-is-getting-hotter-on-the-roof-of-the-world/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">It is getting hotter on the roof of the world</a>, Kunda Dixit <figure><img width="2973" height="1374" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230208140212/63e39ffb9c7e80680e0d7017jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>“The fact that other countries put Nepal’s mountains on their stamps was a recognition of their importance,” Shrestha says. “And it was a pity that we Nepalis did not bother to know them.” Shreshta feels that this is a failure of the geography curriculum in Nepal’s schools. The peaks all have names, either of Hindu gods and goddesses given by the people of the lower valleys, or Tibetan names by dwellers of the high mountains.The southern outskirts of Kathmandu Valley on clear days like this week provide a sweeping view of 250km of Himalayan mountains from Annapurna in the west to Numbur in the east. Few know that even Mt Everest is visible from Lagankhel and Kirtipur, peeking from behind Kang Nachugo in Rolwaling Himal.In those days there was no pollution in Kathmandu, and the peaks were visible most days from the city itself. And from the ridges on the southern rim of the Valley, the view is of mountains further still — from Dhaulagiri to Makalu. Shrestha credits his passion for identifying mountains to his Jesuit teachers at St Xaviers School in Godavari, and especially Fr James Donnelly who passed down his interest in mountains to boarding school students like himself.“Every December, we used to climb Pulchoki and Fr Donnelly used to point out each peak and tell us their names, and we never forgot them, they were etched in our memory,” says Shrestha, who clambers up to the terrace of his home in Sunakothi every day with clear skies to take pictures of the panorama. “With climate change threatening the Himalaya, it is important to know our mountains,” he says. “Only if we know them will we respect them, and value them.”Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/knowing-our-mountains/">Knowing our mountains</a>, Editorial

Knowing our mountains

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230112100128/63bfd35e9c7e80680e0d3059jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="4288" height="2848"/><figcaption>Photo: GUÐMUNDUR PÁLL ÓLAFSSON</figcaption></figure>There are many mistaken notions about Nepal and the Himalaya. Nepal is <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/himal-pahad-tarai/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">not just mountains</a> — the southern plains make up a quarter of the area and is home to more than half the country’s population.The general perception is that the highest peaks mark Nepal’s northern border with China in one long chain. Actually, only Makalu, Lhotse, Everest, Cho Oyu, Gauri Shankar up to Phurbi Ghyachu are on the Nepal-China border.From the north of Kathmandu Valley westwards, Langtang, most of Ganesh, Manaslu, Annapurna, Dhaulagiri, Kanjiroba run diagonally across Nepal. On the other side of these mountains are the trans-Himalayan districts of Humla, Mugu, Dolpo, Mustang and Manang which form 18% of Nepal’s area.<a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/conserving-mountains-for-people-and-nature/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Himalaya</a> is not one long row of peaks, but is made up of massifs called Himals: for example, Rolwaling Himal, Ganesh Himal, Annapurna Himal or Dhaulagiri Himal. These Himals are separated by rivers that are older than the mountains, and cut through them as they rose after the collision between the Indian and Eurasian plates starting 50 million years ago.Evidence of this is the Yarlung Tsangpo (Brahmaputra) and the Indus which wander along the Tibetan Plateau until they cut through the mountains. Most of Nepal’s major rivers, including the Karnali, Kali Gandaki, the Marsyangdi, Budi Gandaki, the two Bhote Kosis, Tama Kosi and the Arun originate in glaciers north of the main Himalayan chain<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230112100128/63bfd3629c7e80680e0d305ajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="109">The <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=16488" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Kali Gandaki</a> is the deepest scar on the land surface of the earth, flowing at barely 1,400m with two 8,000m massifs of Annapurna and Dhaulagiri towering only 8km apart on either side.Along its riverbed are ammonites, perfectly preserved fossils of shellfish that lived on the floor of the Tethys Ocean 250 million years ago. Fossilised sea lilies have been found on the yellow limestone on top of Mt Everest — thrusted from the bottom of the ocean to nearly nine kilometres into the edge of the stratosphere.What makes our mountains so scenic is also why they are seismic. The mountains are still rising at about 1cm a year as India continues to plough under the softer Asian plate — not steadily but in gigantic lurches every few decades. The rock strata move at 20mm every year, and bend with the strain until they snap, causing regular earthquakes.Himalayan seismologists estimate the tectonic tension building up beneath us, and have calculated that there are 8-9M earthquakes every 500 years or so, with smaller temblors every 100 years along segments of the Himalaya.The <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=5065#.Y4-SSy9w2Lc">1934</a> and <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/photos-nepal-earthquake-2015,2207">2015</a> earthquakes have eased the strain in central Nepal somewhat, but in western Nepal there is a <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/aint-seen-nothing-yet/">‘seismic gap’ </a>because there has been no megaquake for at least 500 years. An 8.5M earthquake there could lead to surface displacement of 8m or more, causing widespread destruction in Nepal and all over the densely populated north Indian plains.Aside from the danger of building collapses, an earthquake of this magnitude can cause landslides to block rivers and unleash catastrophic floods of the kind that probably caused the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/past-disasters-foretold/">Pokhara Valley</a> to fill up some 600 years ago.The world’s youngest mountain range is <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/we-have-not-respected-the-fragility-of-the-himalaya/">already very fragile</a>, but haphazard infrastructure and settlements without risk assessment makes it even more dangerous. And the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/climate-change-is-a-disaster-in-the-nepal-himalaya/">climate emergency</a> with its <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-needs-weather-stations-in-the-himalaya/">weather extremes</a> adds to the hazards of Himalayan seismicity, including the threat of simultaneous <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/danger-nepals-glacial-lakes-are-filling-up/">glacial lake outburst floods</a>.We need to know our mountains, our own survival depends on it. Nepal’s planners and government ought to <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/page/preparing-for-the-next-big-earthquake-in-nepal">factor in earthquake</a> and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/a-terrifying-assessment-of-himalayan-melting/">climate risks</a> in future development. The mountains will seek their revenge if we mistreat them. Wilful ignorance, greed and incompetent implementation are sure to invite disaster.The Himalaya is not just a mountain range. It is the entire watershed from the Tibetan Plateau, though the Himals, Mahabharat and Chure foothills to the Tarai. This is the water tower of Asia, it stores ice and groundwater not just for Nepal but for hundreds of millions of people downstream.It is Nepal’s duty to protect the Himalaya not just from and for ourselves, but for humans and other life forms we share this planet with.

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230112100128/63bfd3509c7e80680e0d3055jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1041"/><figcaption>CALVING OFF: In the past 30 years, the Imja Glacier in the Khumbu has grown into a lake 2km long as the permafrost and ice melts. Photo: KIRIL RUSEV</figcaption></figure>The Himalaya is the largest storehouse of water as ice after the polar regions, which is why it is called the Third Pole. The world’s highest mountain range is also referred to as the Water Tower of Asia, but the roof of the world is running out of water.Sky rivers bring moisture from the ocean and precipitate it as rain or snow on the mountains. Much of it seeps into the ground with the mountains acting like gigantic sponges. The rest is stored as ice and melts slowly in summer when glaciers bring them down.But climate change is <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/climate-change-is-a-disaster-in-the-nepal-himalaya/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">heating up the Himalaya</a> faster than the global average, disrupting this water cycle. The rains are becoming more erratic, either coming in torrents or not at all, groundwater is depleting, and glaciers have shrunk.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230112100128/63bfd3549c7e80680e0d3056jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="200" height="109">Rivers originating in the Himalaya and the Tibetan Plateau that sustain the inhabitants of the mountains as well as 1 billion Asians downstream will have less water in the dry season in the coming decades.If greenhouse gas emissions are not reduced, scientists predict that two-thirds of Himalayan glaciers will be gone during this century. Already, there is a river running through Everest Base Camp, and runnels in the Khumbu Icefall may turn it into a waterfall in the not-too-distant future.Khim Lal Gautam, who was part of the team that measured the height of Mt Everest to greater accuracy in 2020, has climbed the world’s highest mountain twice and has noticed the changes.“The moraine and permafrost here at the Everest Base Camp is melting dangerously. The glacier is collapsing, every time I come here there is less and less ice,” says Gautam.He adds: “The accelerated melting means there is now this big river running through Base Camp. In the last six years, the average temperature here has increased by six degrees.”Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/it-is-getting-hotter-on-the-roof-of-the-world/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">It is getting hotter on the roof of the world</a>, Kunda Dixit<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230112100128/63bfd3569c7e80680e0d3057jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="3000" height="671"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Across the Himalaya, iconic peaks like Mt Machapuchre have turned into bare rock during some seasons. Between October 2008 to October 2020, Mt Saipal at 7,031m in far west Nepal lost most of its ice, shocking mountaineers, scientists and locals alike.In 2006, the serac below the summit of Ama Dablam that gave the mountain its name broke off killing six climbers. “Ama Dablam means mother’s necklace, and a chunk of this big block of ice collapsed and thundered down,” says environmentalist and entrepreneur Dawa Steven Sherpa. “We are not just losing our mountains but a large part of our identity and what they mean to us.”Researchers have made similar observations in the Karakoram in Pakistan, in the Tibetan Plateau, Bhutan and India where the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-mountains-are-melting/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">permafrost is melting and glaciers receding</a>.“In the past, glaciers in the Karakoram were more stable than elsewhere in the Himalaya … but now even these glaciers have started melting,” says Pakistani remote sensing specialist Sher Muhammad, who is with the Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD).Accelerated melting has also meant that the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/danger-nepals-glacial-lakes-are-filling-up/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">number of glacial lakes is increasing</a>. Nepal’s longest glacier, Ngozumpa below Mt Cho Oyu, now resembles Swiss cheese, riddled with melt pools and debris. Imja Glacier has turned into a glacial lake in just 30 years.“Imja didn’t used to be a lake, it used to be a solid glacier,” adds Dawa Sherpa. “My father camped on the glacier 60 years ago with a Japanese expedition. Today, we need a rubber boat to be where he was back then.”There are 3,252 glacial lakes in Nepal, and they are shrinking three times faster than in 1998. Many of these are filling up with melt water and are in danger of bursting. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/tracing-past-glacial-floods-in-kangchenjunga/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs)</a> are a threat not just to human settlements but to infrastructure projects, many of them hydropower plants which are built along rivers downstream.The massive debris flow on the Melamchi River in June 2021 that killed at least 30 people, submerged settlements, and nearly destroyed Nepal’s biggest infrastructure project to supply water to Kathmandu, was caused by a heavy monsoon downpour bringing down glacial sediments no longer cemented by permafrost.While melting mountains are more visible, many more people are affected across the Himalaya by springs going dry and reduced flow on rivers. People are <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepal-must-prepare-for-climate-migration/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">abandoning villages and homesteads</a> because of prolonged droughts and dry springs.Women left behind are having to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/women-and-water/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">shoulder the burden</a> of household chores including fetching water from further away, even as there is less water to irrigate terrace farms. In parts of Nepal, this has led to an increase in child marriage and the school dropout rate for girls, undermining the country’s past gains.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/global-heating-melts-mountains/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Forests replace glaciers in the Himalaya</a>, Tufan Neupane<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230112100128/63bfd35a9c7e80680e0d3058jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="4288" height="2848"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>The theme of this year's International Mountain Day on 11 December is 'Women Move Mountains'. Climate change in the mountains is not just a crisis but also an opportunity to empower women and local communities.From rainwater harvesting, reviving ponds, and drip irrigation to planting sugarcane and Napier grass on riverbanks to reduce flood risks, there are many successful examples in Nepal of local adaptation.But much like air pollution, tackling the impact of climate change in the Himalaya needs a cross-border and regional collaboration. In fact, worsening regional air pollution is leading to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/a-terrifying-assessment-of-himalayan-melting/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">an acceleration in melting</a>.Black carbon and soot particles from vehicular emission, industries and fires are reaching higher altitudes and increasing the melt rate of glaciers already thawing due to global warming.Says <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/we-have-not-respected-the-fragility-of-the-himalaya/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ICIMOD Director General Pema Gyamtsho</a> from Bhutan: “We need to put more focus on building transboundary cooperation. That has always been our mandate, but I think now, we need to fast forward these initiatives.”The Himalaya has more biodiversity than any other place on earth because of its elevation and moisture range. Researchers say this makes it an extraordinary place for species to flourish. But climate change is impacting on this diversity of plant and animal life that have evolved in the sensitive mountain ecosystem. Many have never been studied and could have immense medicinal and utilitarian value.The recently concluded <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/make-or-break-climate-summits/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">COP27 Climate Summit in Egypt</a> agreed on a mechanism to compensate poorer countries for loss and damage from climate change, but fell short of required decarbonisation targets. There is now serious doubt if global average temperature can be limited to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.Scientists and governments are meeting in Montréal this week to find ways to avert what they call the 'sixth extinction' -- the largest loss of biodiversity in the planet since the meteorite strike that wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. Some of this is due to the climate crisis, but human settlements and consumption is also destroying habitats. Just as at COP27 in Egypt, the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15) in Montréal will also set targets for the global biodiversity framework.Himalayan geographer Alton C Byers who has been studying the impact of climate change on the ecosystem of the Kangchenjunga region warns: “People think mountains are invulnerable, invincible. They are not, they are some of the most fragile ecosystems in the world which is why we need to give them special consideration and protection.”Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/mountain-women-on-the-climate-frontlines/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Mountain women on the climate frontlines</a>, Torun Dramdal and Pema Gyamtsho

himalaya

The Arctic meets the Himalaya

Finding money to save the Third Pole

Pokhara 800 years ago

In high places

For destruction, ice is also great and will suffice

Norway supports Himalayan climate research

From the North Pole to the Third Pole

Knowing our mountains

Knowing our mountains

The climate crisis is a water crisis in the Himalaya