UN chief warns of Himalayan catastrophe unless steps are taken
Guterres emphasised that nearly a third of Nepal's ice had vanished in just over 30 years, and it was directly linked to greenhouse gas pollution
UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres on Saturday (December 2) warned of a potential catastrophe in the Himalayas where the glaciers are melting at an alarming rate.
Addressing a meeting with mountain countries at this year’s Conference of Parties (COP28), he said the climate talks in Dubai must respond to the needs of the developing countries, especially the most vulnerable.
Some 240 million people depend on the glaciers and the 10 major rivers, including the Ganga and Brahmaputra, which originate in the Himalayas.
Another billion people living downstream of these rivers across eight countries, including India, are dependent on the glacier-fed rivers.
Guterres emphasised that nearly a third of Nepal's ice had vanished in just over 30 years, and it was directly linked to greenhouse gas pollution that heats up the planet.
Guterres, who visited Nepal in October, urged developed countries to clarify the delivery of USD 100 billion and produce a plan to double adaptation finance to USD 40 billion a year by 2025.
“But those sums are dwarfed by the scale of what's needed,” he said, and sought reforms in international financial institutions and multilateral development banks to better cater to the needs of countries like Nepal.
Act now
He said unless there was a change in course, “a catastrophe can be unleashed.”
“The glaciers could disappear altogether. That means massively reduced flows for major Himalayan rivers such as the Indus, the Ganges and the Brahmaputra. Deltas decimated by saltwater,” he said.
The UN chief highlighted the alarming pace at which the glaciers were disappearing, causing devastating impacts on local communities.
“The mountains are crying out for help and COP28 must respond.” Guterres said.
Izabella Koziell, the deputy director general of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development’s (ICIMOD), earlier underlined the urgent imperative to prioritise the Hindu Kush Himalaya for Loss and Damage compensation.
A 2017 study by ICIMOD has established that even when the world manages to maintain the global temperature rise average at 1.5 degrees Celsius, there will be a rise of 2 degrees Celsius or more in the Himalayan region by the end of the century.
(With agency inputs)