‘On thin ice’: UN chief sounds alarm over rapid Himalayan glacier melt

Mountains in Nepal’s Annapurna range, where glaciers are retreating and snow lines are rising due to climate change.
UN News/Vibhu Mishra Mountains in Nepal’s Annapurna range, where glaciers are retreating and snow lines are rising due to climate change. The United Nations Secretary-General warned on Friday that Himalayan glaciers are “caving in,” urging immediate action to address the climate crisis, especially in the world’s most fragile ecosystems.

António Guterres issued the warning in a video message to the inaugural Sagarmatha Sambaad, or “Everest Dialogue,” convened by the Government of Nepal in Kathmandu. “Record temperatures have meant record glacier melt,” he said. “Nepal today is on thin ice – losing close to one-third of its ice in just over thirty years. And your glaciers have melted 65 per cent faster in the last decade than in the one before.” Named after Mount Everest (Sagarmatha in Nepali), the international platform convened ministers, parliamentarians, climate experts, and civil society to focus on climate change, mountain ecosystems, and sustainability.

Glaciers in the region have served for centuries as vital freshwater reservoirs. Their accelerated melt now threatens not only local communities but vast populations downstream who rely on Himalayan-fed rivers. Reduced water flow in river systems such as the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Indus threatens not only water but also food production for nearly two billion people across South Asia. Combined with saltwater intrusion, this could trigger collapsing deltas and mass displacement, the UN chief warned. “We would see low-lying countries and communities erased forever,” he said.

Ahead of the summit, Nepal’s children and youth stepped into the spotlight with their own call to action. In a declaration submitted to the dialogue, over 100 children and young people demanded urgent and inclusive climate action that recognizes them as rights-holders and climate actors – not just passive victims. Among their key demands: ensuring child participation in climate decisions, supporting youth-led programmes, and promoting their innovations and climate action.

“The climate crisis is a child rights crisis – disproportionately impacting their health, nutrition, education and well-being,” said Alice Akunga, head of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Nepal, which supported the deliberations. “Listening to the voices of the ‘future of humanity’ is critical to designing and implementing meaningful and lasting solutions to address the adverse effects of climate change on children and youth.”

Source: The UN news