The Himalayas are melting faster - and India's economy is 'at risk'

The Himalayas are approaching a dangerous threshold as glaciers melt faster, glacial lakes grow more unstable and the mountains face a widening gap in monitoring, according to new research.The findings come in the aftermath of devastating floods in Nepal and Tibet, which killed more than 1,300 people and caused widespread destruction, highlighting the growing risks from a rapidly changing Himalayan environment.

Himalayan glaciers are now losing mass 65% faster than they were a decade ago, the report by global consultancy Systemiq, produced with the Integrated Mountain Initiative and with technical contributions from the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) and GB Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment, says.

Yet only about 21 of the estimated 40,000 glaciers across the Himalaya-Karakoram region are being monitored in detail and on a sustained basis, according to the report.

Read more