Yala Glacier funeral

Yala Glacier, Nepal, has become the first glacier in Asia and the third globally to receive a memorial plaque marking its “death,” a symbolic recognition of the effects of climate change. The glacier, located in the Langtang region, has shrunk by 66% and retreated 784 meters since the 1970s. It is part of a small group of glaciers in the HKH region monitored consistently, providing critical data on glacial retreat.

A memorial ceremony took place on May 12, organized by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), and attended by over 50 people, including local community members, Buddhist monks, and glaciologists from Nepal, India, China, and Bhutan. The event is modeled on similar “glacier funerals” held for:

• OK Glacier in Iceland (2019),
• Pizol Glacier in Switzerland (2019),
• Clark Glacier in Oregon, USA (2020),
• Ayoloco Glacier in Mexico (2021),
• Basodino Glacier in Switzerland (2021).

The plaque on Yala Glacier bears words by Icelandic author Andri Snær Magnason, also featured on other memorials, symbolizing a global call to acknowledge and respond to glacial loss.

Yala is one of only seven glaciers in the 3,500 km-long Hindu Kush Himalayas monitored annually for over a decade, highlighting the critical importance of long-term glacial observation in understanding regional climate impacts.

(Source: HT)