In mountainous areas, water flows from melting glaciers into rivers, lakes and reservoirs, where it is used for drinking, irrigation, and even hydropower. As glaciers retreat, and winter precipitation shifts from snow to rain due to climate change, these once reliable and safe supplies of freshwater are in jeopardy.
Our Climate Reality partners are hiking up to a glacier in Ecuador, where glacial melt is an important water source for both urbanites in Quito and small-scale Andean mountain herders and farmers. As temperatures warm and Ecuador’s glaciers melt, runoff will temporarily increase. But the increase is unsustainable, as evidenced by the fact that some of Ecuador’s glaciers have already disappeared.
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