Glaciers in Developing Nations Need More Attention, U.N. Study Finds

Glacial melting in the Andes, the Himalayas, and peaks in other parts of the developing world need to be more closely monitored by scientists, according to a United Nations study. The report, conducted by the U.N. Environment Programme and the World Glacier Monitoring Service, concluded that adequate monitoring of glacial trends in North America and Europe has been done, but ice fields in Central Asia and the tropics have largely been overlooked. The study’s authors noted that the melting of glaciers, which is linked to climate change, could threaten the water supplies of hundreds of millions of people. The report, released at a meeting of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, recommended more investment in high-tech monitoring tools for Central Asia, East Africa, South America, and Papua New Guinea.