Venezuela Loses Its Last Glacier Amid Rising Global Temperatures
- 11 days ago
Venezuela , Loses Its Last Glacier , Amid Rising Global Temperatures.
BBC reports that scientists have warned that Venezuela
may be the first country to have lost all of its glaciers
after the nation's last glacier was downgraded to an ice field.
According to the International Cryosphere Climate
Initiative (ICCI), Venezuela's last remaining glacier
has now become "too small to be classed as a glacier.".
In the last 100 years, Venezuela
has lost at least six other glaciers.
As a result of global average temperatures rising, ice loss
is increasing globally, which in turn is raising sea levels.
There has not been much
ice cover on the last Venezuelan
glacier since the 2000s. Now it's
not being added to, so it has been
reclassified as an ice field, Dr Caroline Clason, a glaciologist at Durham University, via BBC.
According to researchers at the University of
Los Andes in Colombia, Venezuela's last glacier has
already shrunk from 450 hectares to under two.
BBC points out that while there is no global
standard for the minimum size that qualifies a body
of ice as a glacier, the United States Geological Survey
says 10 hectares is a commonly accepted minimum. .
The Venezuelan government's plan to cover the remaining
ice with a thermal blanket to stem the thawing process
was met with criticism from local climate scientists.
However, Professor Mark Maslin, a professor of earth
system sciences at University College London, cautioned
that mountain glacier loss was "not directly reversible.".
Once a glacier’s gone,
the sunlight heats the ground,
makes it much warmer and makes
it much less likely to actually
build ice up over the summer, Professor Mark Maslin, a professor of earth system
sciences at University College London, via BBC
BBC reports that scientists have warned that Venezuela
may be the first country to have lost all of its glaciers
after the nation's last glacier was downgraded to an ice field.
According to the International Cryosphere Climate
Initiative (ICCI), Venezuela's last remaining glacier
has now become "too small to be classed as a glacier.".
In the last 100 years, Venezuela
has lost at least six other glaciers.
As a result of global average temperatures rising, ice loss
is increasing globally, which in turn is raising sea levels.
There has not been much
ice cover on the last Venezuelan
glacier since the 2000s. Now it's
not being added to, so it has been
reclassified as an ice field, Dr Caroline Clason, a glaciologist at Durham University, via BBC.
According to researchers at the University of
Los Andes in Colombia, Venezuela's last glacier has
already shrunk from 450 hectares to under two.
BBC points out that while there is no global
standard for the minimum size that qualifies a body
of ice as a glacier, the United States Geological Survey
says 10 hectares is a commonly accepted minimum. .
The Venezuelan government's plan to cover the remaining
ice with a thermal blanket to stem the thawing process
was met with criticism from local climate scientists.
However, Professor Mark Maslin, a professor of earth
system sciences at University College London, cautioned
that mountain glacier loss was "not directly reversible.".
Once a glacier’s gone,
the sunlight heats the ground,
makes it much warmer and makes
it much less likely to actually
build ice up over the summer, Professor Mark Maslin, a professor of earth system
sciences at University College London, via BBC