A surprising phenomenon in the Himalayas may save the planet!

Arabia Weather - Human and industrial activities over decades have caused climate change, as a result of greenhouse gas emissions that act as a blanket that wraps around the planet, trapping the sun’s heat, raising temperatures, and melting glaciers.

While world leaders and international organizations are working hard to reduce this phenomenon in various ways to protect the planet, a recent report reveals a striking phenomenon in the highest mountain range in the world that may help slow the effects of the global climate crisis.

Climate change creates a thermal gap between the air above the rivers and that in contact with the ice surface

When temperatures rise to certain levels on high-altitude glaciers, a sudden reaction occurs that blows strong cold winds down the slopes, according to a study published in the journal Nature Geoscience on December 4. Professor Francesca Pellicciotti, professor of glaciology at the Institute of Science and Technology in Austria, said that climate change is creating a greater thermal gap between the ambient air above the glaciers in the Himalayas and the cold air that is in direct contact with the surface of the glaciers.

She explained that this leads to an increase in turbulent heat exchange at the surface of the glacier, which leads to more effective cooling of the surface air mass. As the cold, dry surface air becomes colder and denser, it sinks downward. This air mass flows down the slopes into the valleys. According to Pellicciotti, this creates a cooling effect in the lower regions of the glaciers and surrounding ecosystems.

Thanks to the presence of ice and snow in the mountain range that feeds 12 rivers, the Himalayan glaciers can maintain a cooling effect and sustain themselves. At the same time, the region faces expectations of a possible rise in temperatures over the next few decades.

However, even the presence of these cold winds is not enough to fully counter the rising temperatures and melting of glaciers as a result of climate change, according to Thomas Shaw, who is involved in the ISTA research team. Xu explained that the cooling effect in the Himalayas is local, but may not be enough to overcome the significant effect of global warming and to completely preserve the glaciers. He noted that the lack of comprehensive data at high altitudes around the world is what prompted the team to focus on using unique observational records at a single station in the Himalayas.

He added, "The process that was focused on in the study may be of global importance, and could occur in any glacier around the world where the conditions exist." He noted that the new study provides a strong incentive to collect more long-term data in high-altitude regions, where the urgent need lies to confirm the new findings and understand their broad implications.

The Earth's average surface temperature is now about 1.1°C warmer than it was at the end of the 19th century (before the Industrial Revolution), and warmer than at any other time in the last 100,000 years.

The decade that extended from 2011 to 2020 witnessed a rise in temperatures, and was the warmest on record, as all decades of the past four centuries were warmer than any previous period since 1850, according to the United Nations website.

Source: alarabiya