Andes

By Dingyu Xuan Are glaciers the lifeline of high-mountain wetlands? High-mountain wetlands are essential yet vulnerable ecosystems. They support local communities, regulate water supplies, and sustain biodiversity1,2, but their future under climate change remains uncertain3. Glaciers are often considered to provide an important and relatively stable water source for these wetlands, particularly during the dry […]

By Rike Becker Andean glaciers and snow fields are shrinking due to rising temperatures, but what exactly does this mean for hydrology, for future freshwater availability and water security further downstream? There is no universal answer to this question. This is particularly true when we look at the mega-diversity of Andean mountain river catchments. In

Written by Owen King The consequences of high mountain deglaciation The loss of ice from the planet’s high mountain environments is one of the most vivid visual examples of the impact of climate change on the natural environment. Glaciers have receded and thinned, in some cases to the point of extinction, in many of Earth’s

The Andes provide water resources to some 90 million people along their entire length. The food and water security of these people depends on the stores of water held in the snow and glacier ice in these mountains. Climate change is affecting these stores of water. Snowfall events are increasingly fewer in number, but bring