One of the most alarming findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report released on Monday is the impact of climate change on glaciers and snow cover in the mountains. According to the Sixth Assessment Report, scientists have established that global warming would have a substantial impact on mountain ranges throughout the world, including the Himalayas.

According to the research, glaciers are melting and receding all across the world, including in the Himalayas, and this is now a “locked in” process that cannot be reversed. The level of temperature rise and glacier melt in the Alps, it continues, is unprecedented in the previous 2,000 years. It contends that anthropogenic sources and human effect are now to blame for glacial retreat.

The receding snowlines and melting glaciers are cause for concern since they may change the water cycle, precipitation patterns, worsen floods, and lead to future water shortages in Himalayan countries.