Himalayan glaciers melting at an ‘exceptional' rate because of global warming, study finds
USA TodayNov 28, 2021
The Facts
The International Center for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) published a report on Tuesday warning that glaciers in Asia's Hindu Kush Himalayan region may lose up to three-quarters of their volume by 2100 due to global warming.
According to the report, the region — spreading across Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan — could lose 30-50% of its glaciers' volume by 2100 if global warming reaches 1.5°C or 2°C above preindustrial temperatures.
The Spin
Narrative A
Global warming is taking a heavy toll on the world's glaciers, with the impact potentially affecting hundreds of millions, if not billions, of people. With a loss of freshwater, an increase in natural disasters, less reflective surfaces to reduce surrounding temperatures even further, as well as a reduction of ecological life, the loss of earth's glaciers would be devastating. Attention must be refocused on their preservation, or else many in the world will find themselves displaced from potentially irrecoverable habitats.
Narrative B
While climate change is an urgent issue, journalists and activists have an obligation to separate the facts from fiction and describe environmental problems honestly and accurately. The catastrophic framing of climate change does far more harm than good, not only by impacting the mental health of our youth, but by alienating and polarizing large portions of the population and distracting from other important issues. Climate alarmism must be taken with a grain of salt.