UN: Ganga, Brahmaputra to see reduced flows as glaciers recede

UNITED NATIONS: UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned that major Himalayan rivers like the Indus, Ganga and Brahmaputra, all hugely important for India, could see reductions in their flows as glaciers and ice sheets recede over the coming decades due to global warming.

“Glaciers are critical to all life on earth. Over centuries, they carved out the landmasses we call home. Today, they cover 10 per cent of our world. Glaciers are also the world’s water towers,” Guterres said in his remarks to an event on the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation Wednesday.

Guterres voiced concern that human activity is driving the planet’s temperature to dangerous new levels and “melting glaciers are the canary in the coalmine”.

Antarctica is losing an average of 150 billion tons of ice mass every year while the Greenland ice cap is melting even faster — losing 270 billion tonnes per year.

In Asia, 10 major rivers originate in the Himalaya region, supplying freshwater to 1.3 billion people living in its watershed. “As glaciers and ice sheets continue to recede over the coming decades, major Himalayan rivers like the Indus, Ganga and Brahmaputra will feel the impact – seeing their flows reduced,” Guterres said, adding the world has already witnessed how Himalayan melts worsened flooding in Pakistan.

He added that rising sea levels combined with saltwater intrusion will decimate large parts of these huge deltas.

The event was held on the margins of the UN 2023 Water Conference – formally known as the 2023 Conference for the Midterm Comprehensive Review of Implementation of the UN Decade for Action on Water and Sanitation (2018-2028) – currently underway at UN Headquarters.