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Scientists warn of glaciers retreating in Peru

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Drop by drop, global warming is melting the world’s ice. Peru’s “White Mountain Range” may soon have to change its name. Global warming is melting Peru’s glaciers and water is vanishing in the region. Man made greenhouse gases are the reason behind the rising temperatures and sea levels.

Scientists said:
Climate change is likely to melt one of Peru’s biggest glaciers within five years and is threatening ice packs on some of the world’s most famous mountain ranges.

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According to Peru’s National Resources Institute, INRENA:

In Peru, home to 70 percent of Earth’s tropical glaciers, the Andes mountains have lost at least 22 percent of their glacier area since 1970 and the melt is speeding up.

Climate change research has focused on melting glaciers in the north and south poles, but tropical glaciers also play a valuable role in local ecosystems as they feed rivers that supply fresh water to areas like Peru’s arid coast.

Ohio State glaciologist Lonnie Thompson said:

The lower elevation tropical glaciers are going right now, no matter what we do we’re going to lose the glaciers on [Mount] Kilimanjaro and we’re going to lose the lower elevation glaciers in the Andes.

President Alan Garcia believes the rush of melted water could mean abundant hydropower for Peru and its neighbors. Garcia agrees it’s feasible but doubts the water bonanza will last beyond 2050.

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Source: CBC News

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