‘Glaciers shrinking in Nepal Himalayas’

KATHMANDU: Nearly one-fourth of total glacier area in Nepal Himalayas has decreased in the past three decades, says a recent report.Close to a third of the country’s ice reserve also shrunk during the same period which witnessed rise in average annual temperatures, the report on glacier status in Nepal Himalayas from 1980 to 2010 found.

The report was released on Friday.“The results clearly show that the glacier area in the Nepal Himalayas is decreasing at a rapid rate and that individual glaciers are shrinking, retreating and fragmenting. The changes appear to be linked primarily with a marked rise in average temperature associated with global climate change,” it said.

Based on improved methods of studying satellite images, the report provides a comprehensive account of status of glaciers in Nepal and also studies water resources assessment and climate change impact.

“The decrease in glacier area accompanied by increase in the number of glaciers is clear evidence of fragmentation as a result of uneven ‘shrinking’ of individual glaciers,” the report said. The study also found increase in average annual mean temperatures in the Langtang and Imja valleys in Nepal Himalayas. Between 1988 and 2008, the annual mean temperature in Langtang increased by 4.2 degree Celsius, with a rate of change of 0.12 degree Celsius per year, and in Imja by 0.3 degree Celsius, with a rate of change of 0.09 degree Celsius per year.