Retreat of Chacaltaya Glacier
Scientists at the Mount Chacaltaya Laboratory started measuring the Chacaltaya glacier in the 1990s. Predicted at that time to survive until 2015, the Chacaltaya glacier has melted at a much faster rate than expected. The 18,000 year old glacier has been reduced in recent years to just a few small patches of ice and snow near the top of the mountain.
Many Bolivians on the Altiplano, and in two of Bolivia's main cities—La Paz and El Alto—depend on the melting of Andean glaciers for their water supply during the dry season. The World Bank has warned that many glaciers in the tropical portion of the Andes are expected to disappear within 20 years. This will threaten the water supplies of nearly 80 million people living in the region as well as the future generation of hydropower. Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru depend on hydropower for about half their electricity.
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