Himalayan glaciers’ melting down puts billions of South Asians at risk

New Delhi, Feb 11: If the phenomenon of global warming continues even at a rate of 1.5 degrees Celsius, a third of the Hindukush Himalayas is set to melt, causing a massive mayhem across parts of South Asia, a new report has said.

According to a piece in 'The Conversation' penned by Anthony Dosseto, an associate professor at the University of Wollongong, Australia, rain in the Himalayas falls mainly in the monsoon times between June and September and they bring heavy rain causing devastating floods, like that happened in North India in 2013 which saw evacuation of over a lakh people.

Besides the heavy monsoon causing floods, landslides can also dam the river and when it bursts, it can lead to huge flooding.

"In the Himalayas, a study tracking the 1,000-year history of large floods showed that heavy rainfall and landslide-dam burst are the main causes," 'The Conversation' article said.

The writer also pointed out that when the glaciers melt, they can create natural dams they can too burst and cause floods in the valley, threatening lives of several thousands of inhabitants.