India

Review of

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/04/world/asia/himalayas-glaciers-warming.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FNepal&action=click&contentCollection=world&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=collection

The Himalayan Mountain’s rising temperatures will melt one-third of the glaciers in the region by 2100. If the climate change targets are not met by then, the Himalayas will lose two-third of their glaciers. This could cause the Himalayas temperature to increase, causing food and water shortage and force the population to migrate. These glaciers provide water resources to one quarter of the world’s population. Greenhouse gas emissions could also cause a rise in heat over the world, ultimately melting glaciers that we use for water resources. The people living in the mountains are affected by this because the more greenhouse gas that is emitted, the higher the temperature gets. The shortages of water are taking effect in cities near the Himalayan regions. With India experiencing the worst water crisis in history, 200,000 people are dying each year. In Nepal, the heat has caused population displacement. Once fertile land has now turned into land that is dried up.

This crisis is tragic because it is caused by humans. We started global warming and now we are paying for the consequences. Losing something so essential to humans is so scary to believe because there would be chaos if we lost water. The people living in the mountains are seeing firsthand what humans have created and have little money to move from the Himalayas. One thing that shocked me from this article is that the Nepal government is doing little to support the relocation of these people and they are then forced to stay on the mountains because they have little money. The economic connection I made from this article was global warming across the world. People around the world are causing global warming by burning fossil fuels and causing the emission of greenhouse gasses. Little steps toward global warming are causing a snowball effect across the world and affecting people closer to areas that global warming has touched such as the Himalayas. One political connection I found from this article was that the way the Nepal government gave limited help to the people on the mountains was similar to the way the US Government gave little help to refugees from Syria. When people from Syria came to America seeking refuge, they were met by hostility and limited entry into America. This caused many people to have to travel to other countries even though they had little to no means. This harshness from the US government is the same as the Nepal government. This is similar to the people living in the Himalayas who feel stuck. They can’t move from the mountains because they are poor, but they can’t stay because they will die of dehydration and heat. This also relates to the US government and the Nepal government not caring about global warming and looking at problems in short term. When the US government denied access for Syrian refugees, they were temporarily patching a hole in what is now a frayed problem that has caused death and destruction around the world. If the Nepal government doesn’t help the people in the mountains, they will also create a problem that creates the same effect. The selfish needs of both governments looking out for the majority of the population and not the others are creating disasters for the people in minority. The US government was looking out for their citizens but not the people who were in dire need of shelter. The Nepal government was creating peace for the majority of their people but isolating the mountain people in the process. When the glaciers melt, the water will disperse down and flood the base of the mountains. This is where the rest of the people of Nepal are living. The Nepal government is failing to look ahead for protection of the whole community and not just one part.

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