DEHRADUN: Yala glacier, one of Nepal‘s most extensively studied glaciers, is expected to vanish by 2040s. It is the only glacier in the entire Himalayas to be included in the Global Glacier Casualty List, a project launched in 2024 through a collaboration between Rice University, University of Iceland, Iceland Glaciological Society, World Meteorological Organization (WMO), World Glacier Monitoring Service, and UNESCO.
Yala glacier saw significant reductions in both area and volume since monitoring began. Between 1974 and 2021, it retreated by 680m. Its elevation, which ranged from 5,170m to 5,750m in 2011, has also significantly declined, according to scientists at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD).
The glacier’s area shrank, too — witnessing a 36% reduction. Sharad Joshi, one of the researchers at ICIMOD, said, “It is no longer suitable for monitoring purposes due to significant changes in its area and volume, now below scientific standards required for effective observation.”
Yala glacier is hugely important to scientists all over the world who are interested in the cryosphere. It is one of the few glaciers in Hindu Kush Himalayan region with over a decade of reliable measurements, with annual data submitted each year to the World Glacier Monitoring Service database to represent the region’s overall glaciers.
“In 2023, glaciers suffered the largest mass loss in the five decades of record keeping. It was the second consecutive year in which all regions in the world with glaciers reported ice loss,” scientists at WMO and UNESCO said.
Neera Pradhan from ICIMOD said that the Hindu Kush Himalaya cryosphere, on which around 240 million people are dependent, “is warming twice as fast as the global average”.
A total of 15 glaciers have been listed, including some that have already disappeared, the most recent being Pico Humboldt glacier in Venezuela, and Sarenne glacier in France, which vanished in 2024 and 2023, respectively. Nepal’s Yala glacier is categorised as “critically endangered”.
Another glacier in Asia which made it to the “critically endangered” category of the Global Glacier Casualty List is Dagu glacier in China, which is expected to disappear by 2030. In fact, glaciological studies also show that over the past few decades, Chinese glaciers have shrunk by 12,442.4 sq km, losing 20.6% of their total area, a loss larger than the size of Jamaica.
The United Nations has designated 2025 as the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation, to emphasise the importance of glaciers and provide essential hydrological, meteorological and climate services to those dependent on them or affected by cryospheric processes. Additionally, starting in 2025, March 21 will be observed annually as the World Day for Glaciers.
According to WMO and UNESCO, there are more than 275,000 glaciers worldwide covering approximately 700,000 sq km and with ice sheets, storing about 70% of the global fresh water.
Dehradun: Yala glacier, one of Nepal’s most extensively studied glaciers, is expected to vanish by 2040s. It is the only glacier in the entire Himalayas to be included in the Global Glacier Casualty List, a project launched in 2024 through a collaboration between Rice University, University of Iceland, Iceland Glaciological Society, World Meteorological Organization (WMO), World Glacier Monitoring Service, and UNESCO.
Yala glacier saw significant reductions in both area and volume since monitoring began. Between 1974 and 2021, it retreated by 680m. Its elevation, which ranged from 5,170m to 5,750m in 2011, has also significantly declined, according to scientists at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD).
The glacier’s area shrank, too — witnessing a 36% reduction. Sharad Joshi, one of the researchers at ICIMOD, said, “It is no longer suitable for monitoring purposes due to significant changes in its area and volume, now below scientific standards required for effective observation.”
Yala glacier is hugely important to scientists all over the world who are interested in the cryosphere. It is one of the few glaciers in Hindu Kush Himalayan region with over a decade of reliable measurements, with annual data submitted each year to the World Glacier Monitoring Service database to represent the region’s overall glaciers.
“In 2023, glaciers suffered the largest mass loss in the five decades of record keeping. It was the second consecutive year in which all regions in the world with glaciers reported ice loss,” scientists at WMO and UNESCO said.
Neera Pradhan from ICIMOD said that the Hindu Kush Himalaya cryosphere, on which around 240 million people are dependent, “is warming twice as fast as the global average”.
A total of 15 glaciers have been listed, including some that have already disappeared, the most recent being Pico Humboldt glacier in Venezuela, and Sarenne glacier in France, which vanished in 2024 and 2023, respectively. Nepal’s Yala glacier is categorised as “critically endangered”.
Another glacier in Asia which made it to the “critically endangered” category of the Global Glacier Casualty List is Dagu glacier in China, which is expected to disappear by 2030. In fact, glaciological studies also show that over the past few decades, Chinese glaciers have shrunk by 12,442.4 sq km, losing 20.6% of their total area, a loss larger than the size of Jamaica.
The United Nations has designated 2025 as the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation, to emphasise the importance of glaciers and provide essential hydrological, meteorological and climate services to those dependent on them or affected by cryospheric processes. Additionally, starting in 2025, March 21 will be observed annually as the World Day for Glaciers.
According to WMO and UNESCO, there are more than 275,000 glaciers worldwide covering approximately 700,000 sq km and with ice sheets, storing about 70% of the global fresh water.
