When it comes to climate change there are varying opinions of the potential effects. Many site the melting of the polar ice caps and rising sea levels. Nepal is trying to remind people that the glaciers in the Himalayas are also feeling the effects of climate change. To raise awareness about issues of global warming Ministers in Nepal are going to hold a meeting on Mount Everest. The meeting will be the worlds highest and hopes to draw attention to impact of climate change on the beautiful Himalayan glaciers. The meeting is one of a series of actions around the world meant to lead into the United Nations summit on climate change in Copenhagen this December.
Rising temperatures have significantly reduced the size of the Himalayan glaciers which are known as the world’s third ice cap and feed some of the area’s largest rivers. India, Nepal, Tibet, and Bangladesh have their farmland irrigated by these glaciers. As the glaciers melt there can be major problems including floods which lead to crop failure. A recent study showed that effects like this may drive food prices up all over the world, as stable crops are wiped out by floods and droughts caused by climate change.
Nepal fears that the melting glaciers could possibly flood low lying villages, damage crops, and threaten the lives of those living there. The Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal hopes that this meeting will raise awareness of the issue to more influential countries like China and the United States and put pressure on them to step up efforts to reduce carbon emissions.
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