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ENVIRONMENT REPORT - June 14, 2002: Global Warming
Threatens Himalayas
By Cynthia Kirk
This is the VOA Special English ENVIRONMENT
REPORT.
A new report says the Himalayan mountains of
south Asia are threatened by the warming of the Earth's climate. The
report says human activities are partly responsible for the warming
temperatures. The climate changes threaten people's lives, the local
economy and the environment.
The United Nations Environment Program produced
the report with the International Center for Integrated Mountain Development,
based in Nepal. It was released June fifth in connection with World
Environment Day and the United Nations Year of the Mountain.
The Himalayas are the highest mountain system
in the world. They extend from Pakistan across Nepal and Bhutan. The
Himalayas include Mount Everest, the world's highest mountain.
A team of mountain climbers from Britain, New Zealand and Chile recently
traveled to the Himalayas. They gathered information about the environment.
They spoke to Buddhist monks, local people and other travelers about
the condition of the world's most famous mountains. Their findings confirmed
the U-N report. The mountain climbers found that warmer weather has
been melting huge mountains of ice in the Himalayas. These melting glaciers
are creating lakes that could overflow and flood wide areas.
Temperatures in the area have risen one degree
Celsius during the past thirty years. Satellite maps show that the glaciers
are shrinking at a rate of thirty to forty meters each year.
The study identified almost five-thousand glacier
lakes in Nepal and Bhutan. Researchers say forty-four of these lakes
could overflow during the next five years. U-N officials say this flooding
could have serious effects on local communities and the environment.
However, they say it may be possible to remove water from the lakes
before they overflow and use that water to create energy.
Researchers say the Himalayas have been harmed
by an increase in visitors to the area, over-cutting of trees and other
environmental destruction. Observers say community action is helping
to restore the mountain environment. However, U-N officials say the
glacier melt in the Himalayas should be a warning to industrial countries
to reduce heat-trapping gases that cause global warming.
This VOA Special English ENVIRONMENT REPORT
was written by Cynthia Kirk.
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