(Video) Rajya Sabha TV (RSTV) In Depth: Melting Himalayas

Topic: Melting Himalayas

Topic Description:

Ice protects the Earth and our oceans by reflecting excess heat back into space.

But, human activity, especially since the industrial revolution has led to rapid global warming and consequently climate change.

This human-caused climate change is already being seen around the world, in the form of extreme weather, shifting wildlife populations and habitats, extinction of a large number of species from the planet and a range of other impacts.

But the most dramatic evidence that Earth's climate is warming rapidly is the dwindling disappearance of mountain glaciers around the world.

Scientists have observed that glaciers in two parts of the world - Antarctica and Asia - have been impacted to a large extent by rising temperatures.

A recent study reveals that Himalayan glaciers are melting twice as fast now as they were before the turn of the century.

The figure is double the amount of melting that took place from 1975 to 2000.

Scientists warn that even if we significantly curb emissions in the coming decades, more than a third of the world’s remaining glaciers will melt before the year 2100.