Impact Of Melting Glaciers

How are Glaciers Formed
Glaciers are formed in the coldest parts of the earth, either at ground level or high up in the mountains. Glaciers contain snow that has turned into ice after more snow has fallen over it and compressed it into hard ice.

For a glacier to maintain / increase its size, it is important that the amount of snow falling on it every year is greater than the amount of snow / ice that has melted. If this trend is reversed then the glacier will start diminishing in size every year and soon be non-existent.

Glaciers Melting is a Normal Process
The melting of glaciers is a normal process. When there is a rise in temperature the upper layers of the glaciers begin melting. It is this process that supplies fresh drinking water and water for agriculture to many places around the world. Some nations depend on this flow of water to produce electricity. The melting glacier will be replaced by more snow, and this process continues.

Glaciers Today are Melting Faster Than Normal
The process of glaciers melting is normal, but amount of glacier that has melted must be replaced by more snow. This process is not happening almost everywhere in the world. Global warming has increased average temperatures worldwide, making more glacier ice to melt than in previous years. Falling snow is not able to cope with the melted snow. This results not only in the size of glaciers diminishing, but is also a grave threat to the populations that depend on these glaciers for survival.

Impacts of Melting Glaciers
Glaciers melting today have a negative impact on all those who depend on it. Communities that live along rivers fed by melting glaciers face the constant threat of being dislodged from their dwelling place due to possible flooding.

Many rivers are overflowing today, but very soon there will be no glacial melt to feed them, causing them to dry up and spread drought all over.

Lakes formed by melting glacier water will grow in size and always pose a threat of bursting. If this happens the impact could be very devastating for all those living in close vicinity. Entire villages could be destroyed including farming land, roads, road and rail bridges. Precious human life could be lost.

If the current trend of more glacial ice melting continues, there will soon come a time when these glaciers will not exist, causing hydropower stations to shut down. Other sources for producing electricity will need to be put into place, causing pollution and helping the cause of global warming. All farmland that depends on melting glacial water will dry up, leading to a shortage of food-grains.

The impact of fast melting glaciers will also be felt in the sea. Sea levels have already risen in the past century due to an increase in water temperature caused by global warming. The water level will rise further when more fresh water is added to it. Entire communities living in low-lying areas near the shore will be at threat from the increasing sea water levels. Fresh underground water in these areas will get polluted with salty sea water making it unfit for drinking or irrigation.

A rise in sea levels may kill or stunt the growth of many coral reefs. Coral reefs depend on photosynthesis from the sun for survival. When water levels increase, the amount of sunlight will reduce, making it difficult for coral reefs to survive.

Many animals, birds, and fish that depend on fresh melting water from glaciers for survival will either reduce in numbers or get extinct over a period of time. This will happen where glaciers melt directly into the sea.

DDT was a pesticide widely used and was banned worldwide many years ago. Most of this harmful chemical got airborne and settled in the cooler climates and were embedded and trapped into layers of glaciers. With glaciers melting at the rate they are today, these chemicals are being introduced into the water melting from glaciers, contaminating streams and rivers as they flow. This will have a negative effect on the health of all those who depend on this water for drinking and agriculture.

Many glaciers worldwide have already vanished. The melting glaciers only help increase global temperatures. Ice reflects most of heat from the sun back into space, but when the land below gets exposed it absorbs most of the heat.

Entire World is Facing the Impacts of Melting Glaciers
Most of the impacts of rapidly melting glaciers are already being felt in many places across the globe. Places that never witnessed temperatures of 40+ degrees Celsius are witnessing it today; places that never suffered from drought are facing it today; places that never seen forest fires are seeing it today; places that never saw floods are witnessing it today. If the current trend of global warming continues, the situation will just keep getting worse -- we have all caused this horrible situation and only we can help reverse it.