Millions of people across the world will ‘melt’ due to the melting of snow covers, ice and glaciers, a UN study has said.
The study released to coincide with the World Environment Day on Tuesday, warns that the availability of water supplies for both drinking and agriculture will also be affected, while rising sea levels will affect low-lying coastal areas and islands.
The report — Global Outlook for Ice and Snow — has been compiled by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and a network of about 70 world experts.
Cause for concern of all
The study underlines that the fate of the world’s snowy and icy plates in a climatically challenged world should be cause for concern in every ministry, boardroom and living room across the world, said UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner.
“Indeed the findings are as relevant to people living in the tropics and temperate climates and in cities from Berlin to Brasilia and Beijing to Boston as they are for the people living in Arctic or in ice-capped mountain regions,” Mr Steiner added.
Melting snow and glaciers on the mountains of Asia alone could affect approximately 40 per cent of the planet’s population, the report observed.
Additionally, as ice and snow melt, avalanches and floods from the build-up of potentially unstable glacial lakes are possible.
Meanwhile, less snow and sea ice means that more of the sun’s heat will be absorbed by land and polar oceans, which in turn will speed up global warming.
Management of polar tourism
In a separate report, UNEP said that polar tourism has surged in the past decade, potentially promoting environmental degradation in the regions, especially in the Arctic.
OMAN CYCLONE
Dubai, reuters: A powerful cyclone hit Oman on Tuesday, and forced thousands of people from Masirah Island in the Arabian Sea to evacuate. The country's main gas export terminal also closed down. A weather service official said the cyclone was expected to be worse than a destructive one that hit the island in 1977.
Winds up to 260 kmh and waves 12 metres high battered Oman's eastern coast. The weather service officals expected floods.  "It's quite common to have heavy rains at this time of year in Oman," said a Western executive based in Muscat.