Over 1,000 glaciers vanish from Central Asian mountains in three decades

More than 1,000 glaciers have disappeared in Tajikistan over the last three decades, the Central Asian nation's energy minister said on the sidelines of the COP29 climate conference in Baku.

People walk past a COP29 logo during the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29), in Baku, Azerbaijan November 14, 2024.Reuters

The thousands of glaciers across mountainous Central Asia are crucial to the region's food and water security, typically draining fresh water into rivers to replenish them during arid periods.

"Over the past 30 years, out of 14,000 glaciers in Tajikistan, more than 1,000 glaciers of vital importance to the entire region have disappeared," Daler Juma, Tajikistan's energy and water resources minister said, according to a statement published by the ministry on Wednesday.

"The rapid melting of glaciers due to climate change is a serious threat in the global context of protecting water resources," he added, speaking at an event organised by Kyrgyzstan, another Central Asian nation also facing the issue of melting glaciers due to rising temperatures.

UN scientists say glaciers could completely disappear from Central Asia by the end of the century.

That would lead to severe water shortages in a region of some 80 million people.