Yala Glacier

Current Context: Glaciologists and local communities in Nepal have declared the Yala Glacier in the Langtang region “dead” after it shrank by two-thirds (66 percent) since the 1970s, illustrating the real-time impacts of climate change.

About the Yala Glacier Loss:

• Glacier Funeral: A symbolic ceremony—first popularised for Iceland’s Okjökull Glacier in 2019—marked its disappearance.
• Global Trend: Other glaciers declared dead include Switzerland’s Pizol (2019), the United States’ Clark (2020), and Mexico’s Ayoloco (2021).
• Key Causes:
  • Rising temperatures accelerate melting.
  • Reduced snowfall fails to replenish ice.