The study, led by scientists at the University of Leeds, found that in recent decades, Himalayan glaciers have lost ice 10 times more quickly than they have on average since the Little Ice Age, when glaciers expanded around 400-700 years ago.
The ice loss is occurring so quickly, the research team described the rate as “exceptional”.
The researchers reconstructed the extent and ice content of 14,798 Himalayan glaciers to reveal how large they were during the Little Ice Age. The model revealed that the glaciers we see today have now lost around 40 per cent of their area, shrinking from a maximum of 28,000 square kilometres to around 19,600 sq km today.
During that period, they are believed to have lost up to 586km cubed of ice - the equivalent of all the ice contained today in the central European Alps, the Caucasus, and Scandinavia combined.
Esta historia es de la edición December 21, 2021 de The Independent.
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