Air pollution reductions caused by the COVID-19 lockdown open up a way to preserve the Himalayan glaciers
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Published:2023-09-21
Issue:18
Volume:23
Page:10439-10449
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ISSN:1680-7324
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Container-title:Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics
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language:en
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Short-container-title:Atmos. Chem. Phys.
Author:
Fadnavis SuvarnaORCID, Heinold Bernd, Sabin T. P., Kubin Anne, Huang KattyORCID, Rap AlexandruORCID, Müller RolfORCID
Abstract
Abstract. The rapid melting of glaciers in the Hindu Kush Himalayas (HKH) during
recent decades poses an alarming threat to water security for larger parts
of Asia. If this melting persists, the entirety of the Himalayan glaciers are
estimated to disappear by end of the 21st century. Here, we assess the
influence of the spring 2020 COVID-19 lockdown on the HKH, demonstrating the
potential benefits of a strict emission reduction roadmap. Chemistry–climate
model simulations, supported by satellite and ground measurements, show that
lower levels of gas and aerosol pollution during lockdown led to changes in
meteorology and to a reduction in black carbon in snow (2 %–14 %) and thus a reduction
in snowmelt (10 %–40 %). This caused increases in snow cover (6 %–12 %)
and mass (2 %–20 %) and a decrease in runoff (5 %–55 %) over the HKH and
Tibetan Plateau, ultimately leading to an enhanced snow-equivalent water
(2 %–55 %). We emphasize the necessity for immediate anthropogenic
pollution reductions to address the hydro-climatic threat to billions of
people in southern Asia.
Publisher
Copernicus GmbH
Subject
Atmospheric Science
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