Melting mountains called a water ‘time bomb’

From U.S. to Afghanistan, climate is changing what millions rely on

VIENNA – Glaciers and mountain snow are melting earlier in the year than usual, meaning the water has already gone when millions of people need it during the summer when rainfall is lower, scientists warned on Monday.

“This is just a time bomb,” hydrologist Wouter Buytaert said at a meeting of geoscientists in Vienna.


Those areas most at risk from a lack of water for drinking and agriculture include parts of the Middle East, southern Africa, the United States, South America and the Mediterranean.

Rising global temperatures mean the melt water is occurring earlier and faster in the year and the mountains may no longer be able to provide a vital stop gap.

“In some areas where the glaciers are small they could be gone in 30 or 50 years time and a very reliable source of water, especially for the summer months, may be gone,” Buytaert said.

Reuters