Mountain snow and glaciers store water and influence river systems. As the climate warms, changing snow and ice can affect when water becomes available, creating consequences far beyond the mountains themselves.
The snow, glaciers and frozen ground of the Tibetan Plateau and the wider Hindu Kush Himalayan region form part of a vast high-mountain water and climate system. Their rapid change is a regional environmental crisis with consequences extending far beyond the mountains themselves.
Snow and ice are naturally reflective. When light-absorbing particles such as black carbon deposit on their surfaces, reflectivity can fall and solar-energy absorption can increase, adding to melt pressure already driven by a warming climate.