Environmentalists are warning that the melting of glaciers in the Himalayas could spell disaster for millions of people living in the region.
They claim the situation is not being adequately monitored; the last major studies having been done in the 1990s.

Swelling glacial lakes would increase the risk of catastrophic flooding.

In the long term, the glaciers could disappear altogether, causing several rivers to shrink and threatening the survival of those who depend on them.

"It is high time we did field studies to assess the situation or else a big natural catastrophe could hit us anytime," said Arun Bhakta Shrestha, from Nepal's Department of Hydrology and Meteorology.
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Nearly 70% of discharge to the Ganges is from Nepalese rivers, which means that if Himalayan glaciers dry up so will the Ganges downstream in India.

"In some rivers, the flow may go down by as much as 90%," said Syed Iqbal Hosnain, of the University of Calicut, India.