GENEVA, Mar 21 (AFP): The melting of glaciers-a direct consequence of global warming-is accelerating, with dramatic consequences for lives and livelihoods.
Glacial melting can result in nuclear power plant shutdowns, agriculture and water resources being put at risk, and coastal cities being threatened by flooding.
To mark Friday's first-ever World Day for Glaciers, the United Nations' World Meteorological Organization (WMO) weather, climate and water agency, and its UNESCO culture agency, zoomed in on the impact shrinking glaciers can have on everyday lives.
By releasing large amounts of water, the melting of glaciers can trigger natural disasters such as floods, landslides and avalanches.
The lakes that form risk overflowing, threatening towns and villages downstream, while the retreating glacier tongue reveals bare rock or sediments that can collapse, increasing the local hazard risk.
Such risks sometimes result in legal action.
This week in Germany, a Peruvian farmer is suing the German energy giant RWE-one of the world's top emitters of carbon dioxide-for "climate justice".
Saul Luciano Lliuya argues that RWE must pay towards the cost of protecting his hometown, Huaraz, from a swollen glacier lake at risk of overflowing from melting snow and ice.
The water released by melting glaciers will initially swell rivers and lakes-but this source will eventually run dry.
"We think that the majority of catchments around the globe are going to reach this peak water within the century, and about 30 per cent or more have already passed" the peak, said Michael Zemp, director of the World Glacier Monitoring Service.
The disappearance of glaciers will affect freshwater supplies, particularly in Central Asia and the central Andes, "where glaciers, in the hottest and driest months, are often the only water resource".
According to a report published Friday by UNESCO, mountains provide up to 60 per cent of the world's annual freshwater flow. More than two billion people depend directly on water from the mountains for their drinking water, sanitation and livelihoods.
Half of the River Amazon's water comes from the Andes, noted Abou Amani, secretary of UNESCO's intergovernmental hydrological programme.
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