One of the few tropical glaciers in the world in the Indonesian province of Papua is threatened by increasing global warming. Researchers warn that Puncak Jaya’s thousands-year-old ice mass could have completely melted as early as 2025.
It may come as a surprise, but glaciers are not only found in the Arctic and the Alps, but also around the equator. Also known as the Carstensz Pyramid, the 4800m high Puncak Jaya mountain on the island of New Guinea is a popular destination for alpinists from all over the world.
“The temperature in Puncak Jaya has risen due to global warming,” said Dodo Gunawan, head of the climate change department at Indonesia’s Institute of Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics (BMKG). “The so-called zero degree line – the point at which water freezes – is now higher than the top.”
Changes in ocean currents and trade winds
This year’s El Niño phenomenon has exacerbated the situation. Particularly in the eastern Pacific Ocean, between South America and the island nation of Indonesia, the weather event is leading to far-reaching changes in ocean currents and trade winds. The result: the seawater in the tropics and the atmosphere are getting warmer.
Serious consequences for the ecosystem
According to Gunawan, the melting of the glacier in Papua will have serious consequences for the ecosystem. Because it supplies the surrounding rainforest, where many endangered species live, with water and regulates the temperature there. There is also a risk of dangerous sea level rise.
The latest measurements made it clear how serious the situation is, warns Donaldi Permana, who studied the glacier in 2010 with a team from Ohio State University. At the time of the industrial revolution around 1850, the total ice area on Puncak Jaya was estimated at 20 square kilometers. In 2002 it had already shrunk to two square kilometers and in 2022 to 0.23 square kilometers.
2021 Ice thickness reduced by eight meters
“The thickness of the glacier has also decreased since 2010, when it was 32 meters, and was down to 22 meters in 2016,” he said. In 2021 alone, the ice thickness had decreased by another eight meters. Permana warned: “Given this situation, it is very likely that the glacier will be gone between 2025 and 2027.”
Source: Krone
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