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The retreating Himalayas: disaster in slow motion

21.06.2012

If the unprecedented rate of glacial retreat in the South Asian region is not checked, countries in the area are likely to turn highly food-insecure. Pakistan’s latest Climate Change Policy clearly indicates that freshwater resources in Pakistan are dependent on snow and glacial melting and monsoon rains; all of which are highly sensitive to climate change. Islamabad-based climatologist Arshad H. Abbasi, who works at the Sustainable Development Policy Institute, rejects the notion that unprecedented melting in Himalayan glaciers should be attributed merely to global warming. “Since India and Pakistan are at war in Siachen, they have developed preliminary infrastructure like ports, helipads and pipelines to supply kerosene to their camps” Abbasi informs. Farmers in Dajal cannot use the groundwater neither for farming nor for drinking; it is already sour.

Photo (c) Chris Goldberg / Flickr