Hindu Kush Himalaya could lose 75% ice by century's end

The Hindu Kush Himalaya, where glaciers feed rivers supporting two billion people, could lose up to 75 per cent of its ice by the end of the century if global temperatures rise by 2 degrees Celsius, according to a new study.

- PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

If countries can limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, the study published in the journal Science said 40-45 per cent of glacier ice in the Himalayas and the Caucasus would be preserved. In comparison, the study found that only about one-quarter of glacier ice globally will be left if the world warms by 2.7 degrees Celsius by the end of this century, the path the world is on if today's climate policies continue. Glacier regions most important to human communities, such as the European Alps, the Rockies of the western US and Canada, and Iceland, would be especially hard hit, it said.