“We risk losing 90% of tropical glaciers by the end of the century,” warns glaciologist Heidi Sevestre

According to the scientist, tropical glaciers are “the first to fall”.

“If we continue to burn as many fossil fuels as today, we risk losing 90 % of tropical glaciers by the end of the century”, alert Tuesday June 4 on franceinfo the glaciologist Heidi Sevestre, author of the book “Climate Sentinel”, published by HarperCollins. Venezuela is currently seeing its only glacier disappear, it was at an altitude of 4,940 meters and extended over 450 hectares. Today, only a two-hectare patch of icy snow remains.

“The fact that we still have glaciers in the tropics is still quite extraordinary, but unfortunately, these glaciers are the first to fall”, regrets the glaciologist. Tropical glaciers “feel the rise in temperatures extremely quickly, we see that the zero degree isotherm, or the rain-snow limit, rises from year to year”, she explains. The Venezuelan glacier is located at 4,940 meters above sea level, or “for a glacier in the tropics, it’s definitely on the rain-snow line, and unfortunately, Corona has become too small to be called a glacier and within a few years it will certainly have disappeared”. However, she remains hopeful for certain glaciers, notably “in Peru, and in Bolivia, fortunately we still have glaciers up to 6,000 meters above sea level, and the altitude will save them”.

“One thing is certain, it is that if we continue to burn as many fossil fuels as today, we really risk losing 90 % of these tropical glaciers by the end of the century”, she warns. Other threatened tropical glaciers include “the glaciers of Kilimanjaro” in Tanzania, those “Rwenzori Mountains in Uganda” which she particularly appreciates, “it is extraordinary because it is the highest and most permanent source of the Nile”, “there is still a small glacier in Kenya”And “Surely the most surprising are the glaciers found in Papua, two very small glaciers monitored by Jakarta”.

These glaciers are important because they “remain a reserve in water which will be used part of the year, and it is also of heritage and cultural importance”analyzes Heidi Sevestre. “For these populations, it is a part of their identity, of their soul, which disappears with the ice”she concludes.