The world's third-largest storage of frozen water, known as the Third Pole, lies in the high mountains of Asia, centered on the Tibetan Plateau and contains every peak on Earth taller than 7000 meters. These glaciers and snow melt supply key water sources to the ten major river systems across Asia.
Climate change is causing much of this Third Pole to melt rapidly, and if unstopped, effects can be catastrophic as they provide sustenance in terms of agriculture, hydroelectricity, drinking water to the 240 million people who live in the region's mountains and the 1.7 billion people who live downstream.
UNDP Asia-Pacific Director Kanni Wignaraja and Arnico Panday senior research fellow at the Institute for Integrated Development Studies (IIDS) discuss the global implications of Asia's melting glaciers. Melting Glaciers, Threatened Livelihoods: Confronting Climate Change to Save the Third Pole https://www.asia-pacific.undp.org/con...