Pakistani villagers face climate change, melting glaciers

DW (English)

Villagers in Pakistan's northern region, known as the "Third Pole," are fighting for their future, using innovative methods to cope with climate change. Melting glaciers are increasing the risk of devastating floods.

Transcript

00:00Our village was beautiful, then suddenly gloves struck, our homes were destroyed, our

00:10farmland was washed away.

00:16My team and I are here today to build an ice stupa, also known as an ice tower.

00:25Climate change poses many threats, biodiversity loss, erosion and more.

00:30One promising solution is glacier grafting.

00:51This region in northern Pakistan is part of what is called the third pole.

00:55It got this name because it is a vast, mountainous area covered with snow and glaciers that has

01:01more frozen water than anywhere else on earth, outside the Arctic and Antarctic.

01:08The streams, lakes and rivers formed by these glaciers sustain the livelihood of millions

01:14of people.

01:16But rising global temperatures threaten this landscape.

01:26These glaciers are crucial not only for Pakistan, but for the entire world.

01:31And their rapid melting is a global concern.

01:39As glaciers melt, the effects are significant both globally and locally.

01:45They impact everything from snow leopards to agriculture and floods to livelihoods.

01:52Climate change drives these challenges.

01:59The most pressing threat for local communities is glacial lake outburst floods, the GLOFs.

02:06These floods occur when lakes formed by a glacial meltwater burst, unleashing devastating

02:13torrents downstream that sweep away everything in their path.

02:17The impacts of climate change on Pakistan are severe and diverse.

02:22The 2022 mega floods are a stark reminder of the scale of damage that climate change

02:29brings in its wake.

02:31The flood impacted about 33 million people, of which about 9 million lived below the poverty

02:38line.

02:39And the combined loss and damage that was estimated for the floods was about $30 billion.

02:48One such GLOF struck the village of Kunais in 2022.

02:55Nusrat Fatima and her family were among the hundreds affected.

03:05The water took away everything, leaving only destruction behind.

03:17This is our village, Kunais.

03:19It was once beautiful and we were happy here.

03:21Then disaster struck, our homes were destroyed and our farmlands were ruined.

03:33People had to leave, some moved far away, while others went to big cities to find work.

03:46But instead of giving up, the people of this region decided to act.

03:51With support from national and international organizations, they are now working to tackle

03:56the climate crisis head-on.

03:57Dr. Zakir Hussain Zakir, Director of Planning and Development at the University of Baltistan,

04:05is at the forefront of the fight against climate change, using local knowledge and modern science.

04:15Glacier grafting, also called glacier farming or glacier seeding, is a centuries-old indigenous

04:21technique.

04:22It involves placing ice blocks at high altitudes where they can fuse and grow into a larger

04:28glacier over time.

04:29If the site is selected carefully, the chances of success are high.

04:39Locals refer to this process as the marriage of glaciers, which leads to the formation

04:44of new glaciers.

04:46The most critical step is finding a location at an altitude of over 4000 meters where there

04:52is no direct sunlight.

04:57Locals then transport two types of glacier ice to this site.

05:01One is dusty ice, considered male ice, while the other one is transparent glacier ice,

05:07considered female.

05:11These ice chunks are placed side-by-side in a well-like pit.

05:16Water from nearby streams is added, followed by layers of charcoal and straw, to help preserve

05:22the ice.

05:27Prayers and rituals are performed throughout the process.

05:31It takes a few decades, but the grafted ice eventually develops into a fully formed glacier.

05:37We have planted four or five glaciers in Gilgit-Badasan from 2019 to 2024.

05:44It will take five to six or six to seven years to start the accumulation from the air, from

05:54the snow, and you can say from the rain.

05:57And we are quite optimistic that they will serve their purpose to mitigate the adverse

06:02effect of climate change.

06:08Locals are finding solutions to water shortages in the Pari village of Kharmang district in

06:15Gilgit-Baltistan.

06:17Each year, people of all ages come together to construct ice towers, also known as artificial

06:23glaciers.

06:29This community was the first in Pakistan to build these ice towers.

06:34We start this ice two-pass system from November and December, and it takes almost three or

06:42four months to develop a mass in open air.

06:47This ice two-pass system is basically a short-term solution to address the shortage of water

06:53from March to April, and then the glacier melt will cover the gap.

07:01The process is straightforward yet effective.

07:07These ice towers are built at an altitude of over 4,000 meters above sea level.

07:16Water is piped down from a spring located 2,000 feet above the construction site.

07:22When the water is sprayed into the freezing air, it turns into ice crystals.

07:28Eventually these ice crystals accumulate and form a tower-like structure that stores

07:33water for the upcoming months.

07:39My team and I are here today to construct an ice two-pass.

07:43Our community has been working together for the past seven years to create these ice towers.

07:48This is the first ice tower of the 2024-25 season, and we are pleased that we have successfully

07:56completed the work.

08:01By the time summer arrives, these towers store up to six million liters of water.

08:08This water is then used for drinking and farming, solving the region's water crisis.

08:20Before we had ice towers, water shortages were severe.

08:23Women had to stay awake for nights to fetch water and water crops.

08:28Now we get water easily during the day.

08:30Our crops are thriving and life has become much easier.

08:37Due to increasing global warming and rising atmospheric temperatures, the melting of glaciers

08:43has also accelerated, posing a risk to local populations.

08:54In order to save lives from the effects of climate change, the UNDP has introduced an

08:59early warning system in collaboration with the Pakistani government and other institutions.

09:05This interconnected system is playing an important role in saving people's lives.

09:11The early warning system basically timely intimates the community regarding any uncertainty

09:17within glaciers, inside the glaciers, and on the snout of glaciers.

09:23So the automatic warning system will timely intimate the community to just evacuate to

09:31the safer areas, to evacuate to the safe zone, so that the human lives may be protected from

09:38any uncertainty.

09:42Local volunteers are responsible for maintaining these stations after construction.

09:49Abidin Khan is also one of the volunteers and looks after an early warning system unit.

09:55The early warning system helps us detect floods before they happen.

10:02We can now evacuate people and livestock in time, saving lives and livelihoods.

10:13In the last few years, half a dozen glacier crafts have been done under the supervision

10:18of Dr Zakir Hussain Zakir.

10:23The ice tower that Yasir and his team started building in 2018 has now spread to nearly

10:30two dozen places in Gilgit and Baltistan.

10:38Despite the challenges and threats posed by climate change, these heroes remain hopeful

10:43about the future and about protecting local communities from the effect of rising temperatures.

10:50Inshallah, our baby glacier in Bongbong will grow over the next 25 years and ultimately

10:58merge with the parent glacier in Gangsange.

11:11Our vision is to construct ice tupas in every water-scarce region by 2050.

11:18The one behind me today marks just the beginning.

11:29I long for my old village.

11:33My dream is to see it thrive once again.

11:36I wish for the families who left to come back home to live together happily again, without

11:41the fear of glove.

11:49This is not just your or my issue, it's ours.

11:53Climate change affects us all.

11:55We must stop thinking in terms of mine and yours and start thinking about our shared future.

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