BELAM, Brazil: Pakistan has urged stronger global action to address the rapid decline of the Himalayan-Karakoram-Hindukush cryosphere.
Pakistan’s Minister for Climate Change and Environmental Coordination Dr. Musadik Malik made the call in a video message at an event on the sidelines of the UN Climate Change Conference in Belém, Brazil, an official statement said.
He described the HKH range as the “white rooftops of the world” and a vital lifeline for millions across South Asia.
The climate change minister noted that Pakistan alone hosts nearly 13,000 glaciers, which feed the Indus River system and support the country’s food security, economy, and ecosystems.
Malik told the participants that “climate-induced glacier melt is occurring at an unprecedented pace,” calling for the “urgent need” to protect the HKH cryosphere, which he described as the “white rooftops of the world” and the “primary lifeline of millions across South Asia.”
He said that climate-induced glacier melt was “resulting in severe losses and damages, including Glaicial Lake Outburst Floods (Glofs).”
He called on countries with historical emissions responsibilities to help strengthen adaptation efforts in vulnerable mountain regions and urged that the cryosphere agenda be prioritized at COP30.
According to the statement, the event — organised by the Ministry of Climate Change & Environmental Coordination in collaboration with the ICIMOD — featured interventions from Deputy Ministers of Türkiye and Azerbaijan, the Director General of ICIMOD, and senior representatives from Nepal, Bhutan, UNESCO, UNDP, and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
According to Nepal-based ICIMOD, if current emission trends continue, the region’s glaciers could lose as much as 80% of their present volume by the end of the century.
