A study of Nature Portfolio Journal Climate and Atmospheric Research indicates that the highest glacier on Everest has lost 2,000 years of ice in 30 years and if that rate of ice loss continues it will probably disappear in a very few decades, due to a process called sublimation (snow and ice evaporate without going through a liquid water phase). Also, by losing fresh snow, the ice is darker and absorbs more solar radiation, thus increasing melting, sublimation and ice loss.

Meanwhile, on the roof of Africa, Mount Kilimanjaro's snow could be gone by 2040 due to climate change, according to State of the Climate in Africa 2020.

In Peru, 51% has been lost from its glacial surface, in the last 50 years, due to the effects of climate change. The National Water Authority made some important findings:

• The Chuecón glacier (located in Huarochirí), between 2014 and 2019, has receded 216 meters, forming a new lagoon that maintains contact with the glacier, which further accelerates its melting process.
• The Quisoquipina glacier, between 2011 and 2019, has receded 100 meters
• Between 1948 and 2019, the Uruashraju and Yanamarey glaciers receded an average of one kilometer, and are in the process of decline.
• Four mountain ranges in four decades have lost almost all of their ice masses. In percentages, it is realized that La Raya was reduced by 72,85%; Huanzo, 87,79%; Chonta, 92.16% and Chila, 97.26%.
• According to a study, Quelccaya, the largest glacier in Peru, could disappear by 2050. It has decreased by 31% in the last 30 years.

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Knowing that my nephews and future generations will not be able to enjoy nature like us is unfortunate. However, depriving us of enjoying the mountains is not the only consequence of deglaciation. The report prepared by the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change of the United Nations that shares National Geographic details the consequences of our planet without ice:

• Warming oceans and melting glaciers will rapidly raise sea levels, affecting one billion people by 2050.
• Ice-dependent polar species such as walruses and penguins will be increasingly threatened as their habitat disappears.
• Avalanches with wet snow, plus flooding from avalanche impacts and landslides.
• Cultural assets, such as the snow and ice-covered peaks at many UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and tourism and recreational activities, are expected to be negatively affected by the future change of the cryosphere in many regions.
• widespread melting of permafrost, permanently frozen ground layer, is expected to release between 1,460 and 1,600 gigatons of greenhouse gases this century (equivalent to almost twice the carbon currently in the atmosphere)
• River runoff (rainwater that is not absorbed by the ground) will further change in quantity and seasonality with negative impacts on agriculture, hydropower, and water quality in some regions.
• The melting of ice will impact access to water, food production, freshwater fishing, power generation, and economic activities along these river systems, particularly for already vulnerable communities.

Criticizing polluting companies, radical extremes and separating ourselves into camps of "friends of the climate" or "enemies of the climate" is not a solution. In my opinion, dividing ourselves will not help but only our actions will help reduce the impact.

Then what do we do?. According to condense, we can support with three actions for climate change in the Andes:

• Strengthening capacities for adaptation in individuals and societies to face a variable and changing climate; through planning and organization.
• Generating and promoting the exchange of scientific and local knowledge.
• Transforming the crisis into an opportunity towards a profound change in our societies.

If you want to know more about actions for the climate, I invite you to read my post about it.

Share in the comments if a family member or yourself have seen the deglaciation of a mountain over the years.