Minister Daler Juma announced the dramatic melting of glaciers in Tajikistan on Wednesday. The dramatic data was announced at an event organized by Kyrgyzstan as part of COP29 panel discussion. He emphasized that this phenomenon constitutes a serious threat to water resources on the continent.
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A thousand glaciers have ceased to exist
According to the Tajik minister “over the past 30 years, out of 14,000 glaciers in Tajikistan, over a thousandvery important for the entire region, disappeared“.
According to the Asia-Plus news agency about 60 percent drinking water in Asia The central one comes from glaciers in Tajikistan. Their rapid melting was described by Minister Juma as “a serious threat to the protection of water resources in a global context.”
Tajikistan is a mountainous country in Asia Central. Almost 93 percent its surface consists of mountains, and glaciers cover as much as 6%. country. Almost half of Tajikistan is located at an altitude of over 3,000 m. meters above sea level.
Thousands of glaciers located in Tajikistan provide water that feeds rivers not only in this country, but also in large parts of Central Asia.
Will Asian glaciers disappear by the end of the century?
Daler Juma emphasized that rising temperatures around the world are accelerating the melting of glaciers. This, in turn, contributes to the degradation of the local ecosystem. The Minister of Energy and Natural Resources of Tajikistan also added that the cooperation of the authorities of mountain regions is crucial, leading to their development and increasing the quality of life of the people living there.
With the increasing climate warming melting glaciers is becoming an increasingly pressing problem around the world, including in Europe Whether South America. This issue is of great concern in Central Asia due to dwindling drinking water resources.
In 2023, the president Kirgistanu Sadyr Japarov raised the alarm that according to climatologists' forecasts by 2050 glaciers in Central Asia will shrink by half, a by the end of the 21st century they will completely disappear. Their melting would be a disaster for approximately 80 million people who would lose constant access to fresh drinking water.
Source: AFP, Asiaplustj.info