Global News

As the world contends with raging wildfires, floods, droughts and record-breaking temperatures, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) initiated its seventh assessment cycle by electing the leaders who will guide the Panel’s work in providing timely information to support policymakers as they confront a rapidly changing environment.

The new Working Group on Droughts in Mountain Regions within the new scientific decade HELPING, by the International Association of Hydrological Sciences, is seeking survey contributions and links with the MRI research community. They aim to provide inclusive opportunities for communities living in mountains to co-analyse emerging drought hazards, co-determine sources of vulnerability and resilience, co-quantify emerging risks, and co-design solutions for droughts in mountain regions.

A world-first study has found concentrations of plastics in some lakes are higher than in the most contaminated parts of oceans, demonstrating the extent to which plastics have invaded Earth’s ecosystems. Researchers sampled 38 lakes and reservoirs around the world, including in Australia, the United States, United Kingdom and Europe. Plastics and microplastics were found at every site, including very remote locations. 

Volume 20, issue number 6 of the Journal of Mountain Science is now available online.

A major new assessment report from eight-nation body, the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), reveals the changes to the glaciers, snow and permafrost of the Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region driven by global warming are “unprecedented and largely irreversible.”

The General Assembly 2023 of the European Geosciences Union (EGU) was held at the Austria Center Vienna (ACV) in Vienna, Austria and online, from 23-28 April 2023. The EGU General Assembly 2023 brought together over 15,000 geoscientists from across the globe to a meeting that covered all disciplines of the Earth, planetary, and space sciences. The MRI was pleased to participate in the conference. There were many interesting and insightful workshops, posters, and presentations. 

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) will elevate the cryosphere to one of its top priorities, given the increasing impacts of diminishing sea ice, melting glaciers, ice sheets, permafrost and snow on sea level rise, water-related hazards and water security, economies and ecosystems.

The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) urges everyone to share stories and photos from the mountain region to highlight climate change impacts and #SaveOurSnow

Newsletter subscription

Login