The Anatomy of A Silent Crisis The Anatomy of A Silent Crisis

Case Study
The human impact of climate change – Already serious today 57
South Asian region — Melting of the
Himalaya glaciers and risk of conflict
As temperature rises globally, glaciers around the world are melting at an alarming and ever
accelerating rate. This is of concern not only for the world’s ski goers. A far bigger worry are
projections that this melting will play havoc with the supply of fresh water, causing increased flooding
in the medium term, then water scarcity in the long term. And, as water becomes scarce, the risk
of conflict over water resources emerges as a climate-induced security concern. The use of dams
upstream as a reaction to changing water supply is a particularly volatile issue that also carries an
extremely high price tag.
For example, the Himalaya glaciers, 181 the largest body of ice outside the poles, may completely
disappear as early as 2030 as about 7 percent of its ice is melting away each year. 182 The Himalayas
supply water to 2 billion people in Asia feeding into 6 major rivers (Ganges, Brahmaputra, Indus,
Mekong, Yellow and Yangtze) that run through China, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Tibet, Nepal,
Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. 183,184 The Ganges River flows through Northern India
and Bangladesh and alone supplies a population of over 407 million people with water.
Key Sources: IPCC and Institute for Public Policy Research and Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars