Glaciers of the Himalayas finds that in addition to changing temperatures and precipitation patterns, black carbon deposits – air-borne particles generated by incomplete combustion from brick kilns, diesel exhaust, and the burning of biomass – are accelerating glacier and snow melt in these ranges.

• About 70% of Himalayan glaciers are retreating rapidly and climate change has been reported as the major factor (Ageta and Kadota 1991).
• Military activities between India and Pakistan has been blamed for much of the retreat of the Indian Siachen glaciers (Hasnain 2005).

Conversely, the seasonal effect is smaller where there is significant precipitation during the melt season, such as the monsoonal central and eastern Himalaya. Melting of glacial ice plays an important role in maintaining water security during times of drought or similar climate extremes.

In a normal year, California gets about one-third of its freshwater supply from snow melt runoff that feeds streams, fills state reservoirs and provides water to everyone from coastal urbanites to farmers in the Central Valley.

Himalayan glaciers are melting twice as fast since 2000 as they were in the 25 years before due to human-caused climate change, researchers reported in Science Advances in 2019. But climate change can increase landslides and avalanches.

Gangotri Glacier

Gem Glacier

Bottled water: You can drink right from the glacier!

Tajikistan

Siachen

Biafo Glacier