"Glaciers could be tapped dry sooner than expected as climate change melts ice fields faster".

"Glaciers in the Andes shouldn’t be free of snow so early this time of year, but some are now bare.

Warm conditions in January, including a scorching heat wave with temperatures exceeding 100 degrees Fahrenheit in some locations, melted almost all snow cover on some of Chile’s Olivares Glaciers and Volcan Overo in Argentina. With around eight weeks left in the melt season, the exposed glacial ice could disappear faster now without a blanket of snow.

“We’re seeing snow-free glaciers at unusual times, and that means midsummer in the Andes,” said Mauri Pelto, a glaciologist at Nichols College. “Those are all related to just high temperatures.”

As global temperatures rise, mountain glaciers around the world are sweating. This could affect nearly 1.9 billion people living in and downstream of mountainous areas who depend on melting ice and snow for drinking, agriculture and hydroelectric power. In the tropical Andes, for instance, glaciers provide almost one-third of the water that millions of people in major cities use during the dry season."

Kasha Patel and Ellen Francis report for the Washington Post February 7, 2022. [2]