The Third Pole is now experiencing the worst-case scenario after a new study found that glaciers and snow cover started to disappear.
Researchers developed a way to model the region’s water cycling and examine it. The results are genuinely intriguing yet shocking. They unveil how Earth, once again, has to suffer due to global warming events.
Here is what you need to know.
The Third Pole’s Future is Bleak
Recent study reveals how the Third Pole’s glaciers and snow cover are disappearing faster than previously believed.
The team of researchers used an advanced cryospheric-hydrological model featuring 15 upstream basins at the Third Pole. The findings are unveiling the region’s bleak future.
Study insights
“This change in seasonality as well as in peak melt runoff will inevitably disrupt the livelihoods of mountain communities as well as populations downstream,” explained Sonu Khanal, the lead author of the study.
Researchers discovered that all 15 basins would experience more rainfall soon as global warming lowers the snow amount. Such a thing will highly trigger the total runoff across the board. And that’s not all.
The rise in runoff capacity might not be sustainable. The reason?
The team explained that most basins are closer or have already passed the peak glacier melt runoff. And the fact that we can’t stop the process is excruciating. Even if we start to adopt new measures of fighting and controlling climate change, it’s still too late.
Also, even with just a moderate temperature rise, snowmelt runoff will lower significantly for most basins toward the end of the century. Researchers explained that the current situation doesn’t resemble any previous patterns due to its severity.
More data will be available soon, as per the team’s statements. Until then, we should start raising awareness about the Third Pole’s loss and support the researchers’ work more.