Venezuela Loses its Last Glacier

General Studies Paper-3

Context: According to the International Cryosphere Climate Initiative (ICCI), Venezuela’s only remaining glacier — the Humboldt, or La Corona, in the Andes has become “too small to be classed as a glacier”.

About

• The Venezuela had been home to six glaciers in the Sierra Nevada de Mérida mountain range
  • Five of the glaciers had disappeared by 2011, leaving just the Humboldt glacier, also known as La Corona. But it shrank so much that scientists reclassified it as an ice field.
• Venezuela has lost all of its glaciers because The Andes has witnessed a temperature increase in the past seven decades.
  • Andes is the world’s longest continental range of mountains running through parts of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela .

Glaciers

• They are essentially large and thick masses of ice that are formed on land due to the accumulation of snow over centuries.
• They usually exist and form in areas where
  • Mean annual temperatures reach near the freezing point;
  • Winter precipitation leads to significant snow accumulations; and
  • Temperatures throughout the remaining year do not cause the complete loss of the previous winter’s snow accumulation.

Why are glaciers disappearing?

• Since the industrial revolution, carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions have raised temperatures, even higher in the poles, and as a result, glaciers are rapidly melting, calving off into the sea and retreating on land.

Scenario In India

• India is also at the risk of losing its glaciers.
  • They are melting at unprecedented rates across the Hindu Kush Himalayan mountain ranges and could lose up to 80% of their volume this century if GHG emissions are not drastically reduced, according to a 2023 report.

Impacts of glacier loss

• Glaciers are a crucial source of freshwater, especially during hot, dry periods, for local communities, plants, and animals.
  • Their disappearance would mean that one would have to be entirely dependent on spot rainfall for freshwater.
• Melting glaciers add to rising sea levels, which in turn increases coastal erosion and elevates storm surge as warming air and ocean temperatures create more frequent and intense coastal storms like hurricanes and typhoons.
• The cold water that runs off glaciers keeps downstream water temperatures cooler. This is crucial for many aquatic species in the region as they need cold water temperatures to survive,
  • Glacier loss directly impacts such species, which are an essential part of the food web.

Measures

• Enact regulations: Limit or prohibit activities such as mining, drilling, development, and tourism in glacier zones.
  • There should be a complete ban on economic development projects in environmentally sensitive areas, with local people and geologists actively involved to voice their concerns for any future proposals for developments in these areas or their vicinity.
• Research and scientific studies: Conduct ongoing research to understand glacier dynamics, climate impacts, and potential consequences of glacial retreat.
  • Use AI and e-DNA techniques to monitor and analyze glacier data, predict behavior, and identify potential risks.
• Reduce greenhouse gas emissions: Implement measures to mitigate climate change, which is the primary driver of glacier loss.
• Glacier augmentation: Explore techniques to increase ice accumulation, such as artificially enhancing snowfall or spraying water vapor.