UN says glacier mass to decrease by up to 40% in Asia by 2050

Glacier mass will decrease by 20% to 40% by 2050, affecting the lives and livelihoods of about 750 million people in the region, the UN's World Meteorological Organization said in its annual "State of the Climate in Asia" report.

Asia suffered its hottest year on record in 2020, the United Nations said Tuesday ahead of the COP26 summit, with extreme weather taking a heavy toll on the continent's development. Its warmest year on record saw the mean temperature 1.39 degrees Celsius above the 1981–2010 average.

"Glacier retreat is accelerating and it is projected that glacier mass will decrease by 20 percent to 40 percent by 2050, affecting the lives and livelihoods of about 750 million people in the region," the report said.

There are approximately 100,000 square kilometres of glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau and in the Himalayas -- the largest volumes of ice outside the polar regions and the source of 10 major Asian rivers.