Devastating consequences of climate change in mountainous regions Environment and climate

A recent study suggests that climate change caused by global warming is affecting mountainous regions around the world more intensely than low-lying areas, putting billions of people at risk, and affecting ecosystems and their diversity.

The University of Portsmouth study reveals how patterns of temperature, rainfall and snow are changing at an “accelerating” rate in regions such as the Rockies, Alps, Andes and the Tibetan Plateau.

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According to the study published in the journal Nature, this matter not only threatens more than a billion people who currently depend on mountain snow and glaciers for water, but it also increases the risk of “devastating floods,” loss of species, and deterioration of biodiversity.

The study investigated what is known as “altitude-dependent climate change,” in which environmental changes can accelerate at higher altitudes.

It found that between 1980 and 2020, temperatures in mountainous regions rose 0.21 degrees Celsius per century faster than the surrounding lowlands.

Mountains also experience unexpected precipitation and a “dramatic change” from snow to rain. Dr. Nick Pepin, lead author of the study, says that mountains share many characteristics with the Arctic regions, and are witnessing similar rapid changes.

This is due, according to him, to the fact that both environments are rapidly losing snow and ice, and are witnessing radical changes in their ecosystems. He points out that what many do not know is that the higher we go in the mountains, the more severe the rate of climate change can become.

Breaking:
A glacier collapse has buried the Swiss village of Blatten under mud. 💔

The Lonza River is dammed and large parts of the town have been evacuated.

Tragic — but thanks to early warnings from scientists, lives were likely saved.#Switzerland #leaves #ClimateCrisis… pic.twitter.com/ryxn8NlALL

— Sarcasm Scoop (@sarcasm_scoop) May 29, 2025

Devastating consequences

Researchers warn that the consequences of this phenomenon extend “far beyond” those who live in mountain communities.

Nowadays, more than a billion people around the world depend on mountain snow and glaciers for water, including the world’s most populous countries, China and India, which get their water from the Himalayas.

With the rapid decline of Himalayan ice, the risk of “devastating” floods will increase. Scientists warn that dangerous events will become “more extreme.”

This year, flash floods swept through Pakistan, which is located in the western part of the mountain range, killing more than a thousand people and affecting nearly 7 million people.

High temperatures also cause trees and animals to move higher into the mountains, changing their habitats, but eventually they will run out of land and be pushed off the summit, according to the study.

“If there is nowhere else to go, we may lose species and ecosystems may change radically,” says Dr. Pepin.

The latest analysis in the study is based on a research paper prepared by the research team in 2015, which identified the main factors affecting mountain climate change, which include the loss of snow and ice, increased atmospheric humidity, and aerosol pollutants.

Dr. Pepin says these fundamental problems remain, and that “we cannot address mountain climate change in isolation from the broader issue of climate change.”

Shrinkage of glaciers

In Switzerland, home to the largest number of glaciers in Europe, glaciers are facing “massive” melting this year with a 3% decline in total volume, the fourth largest annual decline on record. This shrinkage means that Switzerland’s ice mass has decreased by a quarter over the past decade.

According to the Swiss Glacier Monitoring Center “Glamos”, about 100 glaciers disappeared in Switzerland between 2016 and 2022, and the organization says that most of them may disappear by the end of the century.

The study indicates that the scarcity of atmospheric monitoring in mountainous areas represents a major obstacle to obtaining data, and this means that researchers may underestimate the speed of temperature rise and the speed of melting.

Most current models can only track changes every few kilometres, but the study warns that conditions can differ “significantly” between slopes just meters apart from each other.

Dr Emily Potter from the University of Sheffield in the UK says it is essential to see urgent action on climate commitments and significantly improve monitoring infrastructure in these vulnerable mountainous regions.

Glaciers form living ecosystems teeming with organisms found nowhere else, and as the ice retreats, it creates a domino effect, from species loss to weather shifts. This underscores the need to protect the cryosphere to avoid environmental and climate catastrophe.