Tibetan glaciers face multiple threats from South Asia air pollution, China-led study finds
- Worsening air pollution from South Asia threatens vital water resource for 2 billion people, researchers say
- Rising levels of black carbon from many sources will be difficult to contain
Scientists say the main culprit – an air pollutant known as black carbon – could result in unprecedented melting of the plateau’s glaciers.
The findings have prompted the scientists to call for cuts in black carbon emissions in South Asia to preserve a crucial water balance on the plateau and avoid future water shortages and geological hazards.
Black carbon – a type of soot – is a component of fine particulate matter (PM2.5). It results from the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels and biomass.
02:51
Glaciers in northwestern China melting at a ‘shocking’ rate and may disappear by 2050
Black carbon emissions contribute to global warming by absorbing solar energy and then heating the surroundings. When deposited on ice or snow, black carbon reduces surface albedo, or the ability to reflect sunlight, which then heats the surface and quickens glacial melting. Ice-covered regions like the Arctic, Antarctic and the Himalayas are all vulnerable to black carbon emissions.