‘Ice stupas’ help keep northern Pakistan greenーNHK WORLD-JAPAN NEWS
parts of northern Pakistan nestled up against the Himalayas have been hard hit by serious water shortages because climate change is reducing snowfall and melt water The solution gigantic artificially created ice towers NHK World’s Nazar Islam reports In Scaru a city in northern Pakistan that is home to some of the world’s highest mountains people have long relied on melt water from the mountains to survive But snowfall has decreased in recent years hitting agriculture the region’s main industry hard April is supposed to be when farmers would normally start sewing seeds But now all the land remains barren Due to the climate we haven’t cultivated anything But now a large block of ice on a mountain slope provides water for the area Drip by melting Drip It’s called an ice stupa because the shape resembles Buddhist stupas It was artificially created by taking advantage of the cold air of the mountain which can drop to -25° Snow that accumulates near the summit melts little by little during the winter This water is sent down to the valley by pipes and then spread into the air Over roughly 4 months a gigantic ice tower takes shape Professor Zakir Hussein Zakir is in charge of creating the ice towers A professor at a local university he has been working since 2018 to promote this technique Originally developed in India the huge ice block will begin to melt in March and act as a reservoir The best places to make ice towers are valleys where the sun doesn’t shine and water can be efficiently drawn from the mountain top No power is required since it utilizes the difference in elevation So far 20 have been built giving 16,000 residents fresh access to water Since the ice tower has been installed we are getting drinking water and a good amount of water for irrigation purposes too In order to introduce this method to more areas Professor Zakir shares his knowhow with students at the university How long does it take to build an ice stupa ideally we start spraying the water in mid November and finish in mid-March Climate change is increasingly affecting people’s lives But the ice tupas bring hope and moisture to even more parched land Natural Islam NHK world
‘Ice stupas’ – gigantic, artificially built ice towers – bring hope and moisture to parts of northern Pakistan parched by climate change. #asia #pakistan #india #climate #nature #environment #bangkok
More stories on Asia: https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/tags/58/
Please subscribe HERE: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSPEjw8F2nQDtmUKPFNF7_A?sub_confirmation=1