In Bolivia, scientists are warning of a major long-term catastrophe if the melting of a major glacier continues apace. The Chacaltaya mountain glacier provides the main water source for hundreds of thousands of people. Experts say it could melt away within a year. Edson Ramirez of UNESCO said the glacier is being harmed by human-driven climate change.

Edson Ramirez: “Without a doubt, global warming is one of the principal factors that is provoking the melting of these glaciers. It is something that is not just having a local impact, as could be thought in the case of Chacaltaya, but we are observing its impact in all of the different glaciers we are monitoring. For example, there are around 10 glaciers, and in all of them it has been observed that since the 1980s they have been melting much more significantly. The proportion (of glacier melt) has tripled.”