Going glacier gone: How Venezuela lost its last glacier, why this matters

• Venezuela, for instance, has likely become the first country - it certainly won’t be the last - in modern history to lose all its glaciers.

Reason behind disappearance of Glacier

• Global Warming: The primary cause of glacier melt is global warming. It increases temperatures and leads to ice melting.
• Human Impact: Since the Industrial Revolution, human activities, especially the burning of fossil fuels, have increased greenhouse gas emissions. These gases trap heat in the atmosphere, contributing to global temperature rises.
• Recent Trends: Notable temperature increases in regions like the Andes have been documented, with rates up to 0.10 degrees Celsius per decade over the last seventy years.
• Events like El Niño also exacerbate warming, leading to more rapid glacier melting.

Prelims Takeaway

• El Niño