Himalayan glaciers melting faster, pushing region toward 'peak water' by mid-century

The Himalayan region is moving closer to a tipping point as its glaciers lose mass faster than they did a decade ago, according to a study released this month. The accelerating melt is expected to push the region toward "peak water" — the point at which river flows stop rising and begin to decline — by the middle of the century, with serious consequences for water security.

The findings follow the collapse of a Himalayan glacier in late August along the Nepal-Tibet border, which triggered cascading landslides and flash floods in the valleys below. At least 1,300 people have been confirmed dead and more than 5,300 remain missing across Nepal and China's Tibet region.

As the glaciers retreat, they are leaving behind unstable glacial lakes that are held back by little more than loose rock and ice, perched above valleys where millions of people live, the study found.

The Himalaya underpin more than 20% of India's GDP, making the mountain system a key part of the country's national economic infrastructure and a lifeline for hundreds of millions of people.

The study was produced by Systemiq, a sustainability advisory firm, along with the Integrated Mountain Initiative, the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, and India's G.B. Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment.

It found that glacier mass loss across the region has accelerated in recent decades, even as monitoring remains sparse. Only 21 glaciers are currently tracked on the ground out of an estimated 40,000 across the Hindu Kush-Himalaya region, a vast mountain system that spans eight countries from Afghanistan to Myanmar.

Although the Himalayan region accounts for around 18% of India's land area, it is the site of roughly 35% of the country's natural disasters.