Introduction
The aim here is to narrate the evolution of a mistaken but often-seen claim that Himalayan glaciers might disappear by 2035, to correct it by providing glaciological and climatic context, and to attempt a more realistic preliminary assessment of how Himalayan glaciers might evolve in the 25 years up to 2035.
Narrative
Early in 1999, S.I. Hasnain gave an interview to a magazine reporter (Chettri, 1999), and was quoted to have said “Glaciers in the Himalaya are receding faster than in any other part of the world and, if the present rate continues, the likelihood of them disappearing by the year 2035 is very high.... There won’t be any glaciers left in the central and eastern Himalaya by 2035 if they continue to recede at the present rate.” Chettri (1999) also quotes Kotlyakov (1996) as saying “Its total area will shrink from the present 500,000 to 100,000 km2 by the year 2035.”
A prominent science journalist then published another news story (Pearce, 1999) based upon...
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Cogley, J.G. (2011). Himalayan Glaciers in 2010 and 2035. In: Singh, V.P., Singh, P., Haritashya, U.K. (eds) Encyclopedia of Snow, Ice and Glaciers. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2642-2_673
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