The Star Online: Metro: Central
The Star Online: Metro: Central |
| Nepal glaciers shrink by quarter in 30 years Posted: 23 May 2014 06:30 AM PDT KATHMANDU, May 23, 2014 (AFP) - Climate change has caused Nepal's Himalayan glaciers to shrink by nearly a quarter in just over 30 years, raising the risk of natural disasters in the ecologically fragile region, a scientist said Friday. A new study by the Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) shows that the area covered by glaciers has decreased by 24 per cent between 1977 and 2010. Samjwal Ratna Bajracharya, lead author of the report, told AFP, "the shrinking of glaciers in Nepal is definitely connected to climate change, glacial melt is a huge indicator of rising temperatures." The Norway-funded research project led by ICIMOD took three years to complete, as scientists mapped satellite imagery from several decades to see the extent of ice loss in the region. The fastest decline occurred between 1980 and 1990, Bajracharya said, adding that prior to the late 1970s, satellite imagery reflected little change in Nepal's glacial area. He said the glacial melting is creating huge, expanding lakes that threaten to burst and devastate mountain communities living downstream. The accelerated glacial loss raises concerns over future access to water resources, particularly in regions where groundwater is limited and monsoon rains are erratic. "If the trend continues, the immediate impact will be felt by those living in high-altitude regions, who are dependent on freshwater reserves from glaciers," Bajracharya said. The findings, published earlier this month, also sound alarm bells for Nepal's push to develop hydropower projects. "Nepal cannot use its water resources to develop the country without assessing the state of our glaciers and river basins," he said. A government report in India recently blamed hydropower projects for devastating floods last year that killed thousands in India and Nepal. The government panel said the build up of sediment in rivers, due to the dumping of soil that was dug up during construction of hydropower projects, exacerbated flooding when record-high rainfall hit the region last June. |
| British woman found dead in Bali villa Posted: 23 May 2014 06:03 AM PDT DENPASAR, Indonesia, May 23, 2014 (AFP) - A British woman was found dead in her rented villa on the holiday island of Bali, an embassy official said Friday, while Indonesian police suspect the victim was murdered. Police said 40-year-old Anne Marie Drozdz was found dead in the cultural tourism district of Ubud on Thursday afternoon and that there were signs her villa had been broken into. "She was found by the owner of the villa lying dead on the floor with a black cloth over her face," Gianyar district police chief Komang Sandi Arsana told reporters. "The door was damaged and there were dried up pools of blood on the floor," he said, adding that police suspected murder but awaited autopsy results to confirm the cause of death. The woman had been renting the villa since May 17, police said. Ida Bagus Putu Alitin, head of forensics at Sanglah Hospital in the city of Denpasar, said that the woman's body exhibited bruises on the neck and around the mouth. "But we will wait until permission from her family and police to carry out an autopsy," Alitin said. A British embassy spokesman in Jakarta confirmed the death, adding that embassy officials were "ready to provide assistance to the family" and that they were cooperating with local authorities. |
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