Undoubtedly, global warming is having an impact on our planet, which we all are aware of. Words like climate change and global warming have become an essential part of our daily online news consumption. However, the extent of damage caused by these phenomena becomes more apparent when a study quantifies it. Researchers from the University of St Andrews in the UK, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Graz University of Technology in Austria, and Carnegie Mellon University conducted a study to map the loss of glacial mass in the Himalayas.
As per a Livemint report, the researchers discovered that the Himalayas have lost glacial mass equal to the weight of 570 million elephants. The research findings have been published in the journal Nature Geoscience. The researchers have highlighted that glacial loss in the central Himalayas has been underestimated the most.
In their paper, the researchers stated, ‘Our estimates reduce uncertainties in total glacier mass loss, provide important data for glacio-hydrological models, and therefore also support the water resources management in this sensitive mountain region.’
While satellites can measure the surface of a lake, they are unable to track the conversion of ice below the lake surface. This, as per the researchers, is the reason for the underestimation of glacial loss.
The study reveals that the loss of glacial mass, measured in terms of the weight of elephants, has occurred in just two decades.
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