Editorial Parched world

In this International Year of Glaciers' Preservation 2025, we must ask whether we can truly secure our urban futures without protecting the glaciers that silently sustain them.

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Glaciers are our planetary thermostats and water towers. Known as the 'Water Towers of Asia', the Himalayas feed 10 major river systems, sustaining over 1.9 billion people. But this lifeline is melting fast. According to the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, the Hindu Kush-Himalaya region could lose up to two-thirds of its glaciers by 2100 under a high emissions scenario. Even if global warming is kept to 1.5°C, a third of the ice mass will still disappear. Urban emissions are part of the problem. Black carbon, largely emitted from diesel engines, brick kilns, and biomass burning in urban and peri-urban areas, accelerates glacial melting. Coupled with global greenhouse gas emissions, of which cities contribute up to 70% despite occupying just 2%