World's highest glaciers, in Peruvian Andes, may disappear within 40 years
World's highest glaciers, in Peruvian Andes, may disappear within 40 years
Updated 5 November 2015, 16:05 AEDT
By Krista Eleftheriou
It's the world's highest tropical glacial field and scientists predict it will be gone within 40 years.
[font size=1]
Water flows into the glacier lake, Laguna 69, in the Cordillera Blanca, Peru. These
glaciers are disappearing over time. (Credit: ABC licensed)
[/font]
In the process, it is likely to deliver water shortages and catastrophic floods to towns in the Peruvian Andes.
More than 2,500 glaciers slice through the mountain peaks of Peru. Around 660 of them lie in the country's highest mountain range, the UNESCO listed Cordillera Blanca.
The United Nations body warns the glacial retreat threaten the livelihoods of 2 million people, living in the valleys below and the desert coastal cities that rely on the glaciers' water.
"In the last 40 years the glaciers have retreated at least 34 per cent," Huaraz based Glaciologist and Civil Engineer Cesar Portocarrero said.
More:
http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/2015-11-05/worlds-highest-glaciers-in-peruvian-andes-may-disappear-within-40-years/1511546
Environment & Energy:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/112793282