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El Nino thins the only glacier in Indonesia: BMKG

Global warming has played a key role in gradually thinning the glaciers atop Puncak Jaya, Papua, Indonesia, some of the few remaining tropical glaciers in the world, according to Indonesian Agency for Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics (BMKG).
El Nino thins the only glacier in Indonesia: BMKG ảnh 1An undated photo of Puncak Jaya, Papua. According to Indonesian Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), global warming has played a significant role in gradually thinning the glaciers atop Puncak Jaya, Papua, Indonesia. (Photo:Beritasatu.com)

Jakarta (VNA) - Globalwarming has played a key role in gradually thinning the glaciers atop Puncak Jaya, Papua, Indonesia, some of the few remaining tropical glaciers in the world, according to Indonesian Agency for Meteorology,Climatology, and Geophysics (BMKG).

It said that the glaciers' thickness decreased by about 4m, or 66%, inDecember last year compared to the same period in 2022, citing their latestmonitoring.

Donaldi Permana, the Coordinator of the Research andDevelopment Division of Climatology at the BMKG, said that this is likelyrelated to the El Nino conditions in 2022-2023.

According to him, BMKG has been monitoring the glaciers onPuncak Jaya from 2009 to 2023. Theseglaciers are foundat high elevations due to the mountain's altitude, which reaches over 4,800m abovesea level.

From 2016 to 2022, the ice area reduced by an average 0.07 sq.km per year with the estimated total glacier area in April 2022reaching 0.23 sq.km, he said.

In the 2022 monitoring, BMKG estimated that the remainingice thickness in December 2022 was 6m. However, one year later, in December2023, the latest data showed that the ice thickness was only 2m.

He noted that in addition to the thinning glaciers on Puncak Jaya, several mountains in tropical regions have also experienced icemelting, including Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Quelccaya in Peru, andNaimona'nyi in the Himalayas, Tibet.

He explained that 2023was the hottest year with the global average temperature over the past 10years, from 2014 to 2023, going up by 1.20 plus or minus 0.12 degrees Celsius.

Donaldi underlined the importance of reducing carbon dioxideemissions, including mitigation and adaptation measures such as tree planting, reducing and recycling plastic, transitioning to green energy, saving electricity, conserving fuel, and reducing the use of private vehicles./.  

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