A new report says the Himalayan mountains of south Asia arethreatened by the warming of the Earth's climate. The report sayshuman activities are partly responsible for the warmingtemperatures. The climate changes threaten people's lives, the localeconomy and the environment.
The United Nations Environment Program produced the report withthe International Center for Integrated Mountain Development, basedin Nepal. It was released June fifth in connection with WorldEnvironment Day and the United Nations Year of the Mountain.
The Himalayas are the highest mountain system in the world. Theyextend from Pakistan across Nepal and Bhutan. The Himalayas includeMount Everest, the world's highest mountain.
A team of mountain climbers fromBritain, New Zealand and Chile recently traveled to the Himalayas.They gathered information about the environment. They spoke toBuddhist monks, local people and other travelers about the conditionof the world's most famous mountains. Their findings confirmed theU-N report. The mountain climbers found that warmer weather has beenmelting huge mountains of ice in the Himalayas. These meltingglaciers are creating lakes that could overflow and flood wideareas.