Humboldt Glacier: Venezuela Loses Its Last Glacier

Context

Recently, International Cryosphere Climate Initiative (ICCI), a scientific advocacy organization, said that South American nation’s only remaining glacier, the ‘Humboldt, or La Corona’, in the Andes had become “too small to be classed as a glacier”.

Humboldt Glacier

• Venezuela’s Humboldt glacier, the country’s last glacier, reclassified as an ice field. 
  • Formerly the country had been home to 6 glaciers in the Sierra Nevada de Mérida mountain range, all located in the Andes at around 5,000 meters above sea level. 
    • The Five of the glaciers had disappeared by 2011Five glaciers already vanished by 2011
• Global trend: Glaciers shrinking and disappearing faster than anticipated. 
  • 2023 study projects two-thirds of the world’s glaciers could vanish by 2100 at current climate change rates.

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What are Glaciers?

Glaciers are essentially large and thick masses of ice that are formed on land due to the accumulation of snow over centuries.

• Conditions for Glacial Existence : According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS),
  • Form in areas with mean annual temperatures near freezing. 
  • Require significant winter snow accumulations. 
  • Summer temperatures must not completely melt winter snow. 
  • Glaciers flow slowly due to mass and gravity. 
  • No universal size definition, but typically need around 10 hectares of ice. 

Why are Glaciers Disappearing? 

• Due to the Impact of Global Warming: Due to Increased global temperatures since the Industrial Revolution.
• • Glaciers melt due to rising temperatures from greenhouse gas emissions. 
  • Human activities, like burning fossil fuels, release carbon dioxide and methane. 
    • These gases trap heat in the atmosphere, preventing it from escaping. 

• Venezuela’s Case : 
  • The Andes mountain range running through parts of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela has witnessed a temperature increase of a high rate of 0.10 degree Celsius in the past seven decades. 
    • Therefore it is the major reason why Venezuela has lost all of its glaciers. 
  • In the case of the Humboldt glacier, the melting was accelerated by El Niño, which developed in July 2023. 
    • El Nino refers to an abnormal warming of surface waters in the equatorial Pacific Ocean and leads to warmer temperatures. 
    • In the Andean area of Venezuela, there have been some months with monthly anomalies of +3C/+4C above the 1991-2020 average, which is exceptional at those tropical latitudes.
• India Scenario : India is also at the risk of losing its glaciers. 
  • They are melting at unprecedented rates across the Hindu Kush Himalayan mountain ranges and could lose up to 80% of their volume this century if GHG emissions are not drastically reduced.

Impacts of Glacier Loss 

• Environmental Effect : 
  • They are a crucial source of freshwater, especially during hot, dry periods, for local communities, plants, and animals. 
    • Their disappearance would mean that one would have to be entirely dependent on spot rainfall for freshwater.
  • The cold water that runs off glaciers keeps downstream water temperatures cooler. 
  • This is crucial for many aquatic species in the region as they need cold water temperatures to survive. 
  • Glacier loss directly impacts such species, which are an essential part of the food web.
  • Melting glaciers can also contribute to the rise in sea level. 
• Economic, and Cultural Effect : Glaciers were a part of the region’s cultural identity, and for mountaineering and touristic activities.

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