Climate Action

Ice stupas: the artificial ‘glaciers’ that can solve the Himalayan water crisis

Real-glaciers-are-melting-One-scientist-solution-is-artificial-glaciers-called-ice-stupas

Real glaciers are melting. One scientist's solution is artificial glaciers called 'ice stupas' Image: Rolexawards.com

Jennifer Morris
Chief Executive Officer, Nature Conservancy

High up in the Trans-Himalayan region of Ladakh, India, a local scientist named Sonam Wangchuk is creating artificial glaciers called 'ice stupas' to help farmers facing the growing problem of acute water shortages.

Over the past few decades, glaciers in the region (and in areas around the world) have not frozen sufficiently during the winter months, meaning there is less ice and therefore less meltwater. Many mountain communities rely on glacial melt-water during the dry spring and summer months – including farmers in villages in Ladakh, at around 3,500m above sea level.

The decline in glacial meltwater is attributed to climate change, and according to the European Geosciences Union more than 70% of glacier volume in the Everest region of the Himalayas could be lost by 2100.

Wangchuk – who also teaches at the Students’ Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh Alternative School – initially started his ice stupas project in the classroom. After a successful crowd-funding mission, he was able to try it out for real – and the results soon caught the attention of the Rolex Awards for Enterprise committee.

Sonam-Wangchuk-the-scientist-behind-the-idea-of-ice-stupas
Sonam Wangchuk, the scientist behind the idea of ice stupas Image: Rolexawards.com

By spraying unused water from glacial streams in winter through a network of pipes into freezing air, Wangchuk has created towering 35-40-metre "glaciers" that can store up to 16,000 litres of water. These artificial glaciers or ice stupas work in the same way as natural ones – melting slowly to provide a constant supply of freshwater when it is most needed, in summer.

Loading...

The artificial glaciers have been called ice stupas because of their resemblance to Tibetan religious structures of the same name. Wangchuk believes that the ice stupas are a cost-effective solution to the problem: the biggest expense is the initial installation of pipes, after which the stupas can run unmanned.

Wangchuk was announced as one of the winners of the 2016 Rolex Awards for Enterprise in Environment and awarded $104,000 towards the development of his project. He hopes to build a further 20 ice stupas with this prize money.

After Antarctica and the Arctic, the Himalayan region has the next largest deposit of snow and ice in the world. Throughout the mountain range there are an estimated 15,000 glaciers – the largest of the Himalayan glaciers is Siachen, at over 70km long.

Have you read?
Loading...
Don't miss any update on this topic

Create a free account and access your personalized content collection with our latest publications and analyses.

Sign up for free

License and Republishing

World Economic Forum articles may be republished in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License, and in accordance with our Terms of Use.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

Stay up to date:

Future of the Environment

Related topics:
Climate ActionNature and Biodiversity
Share:
The Big Picture
Explore and monitor how Future of the Environment is affecting economies, industries and global issues
A hand holding a looking glass by a lake
Crowdsource Innovation
Get involved with our crowdsourced digital platform to deliver impact at scale
World Economic Forum logo
Global Agenda

The Agenda Weekly

A weekly update of the most important issues driving the global agenda

Subscribe today

You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in our emails. For more details, review our privacy policy.

Climate adaptation finance: The challenge for institutional investors and commercial banks

Matthew Cox and Luka Lightfoot

November 22, 2024

These fuel producers are leading the switch to zero-emission fuels in the shipping industry

About us

Engage with us

  • Sign in
  • Partner with us
  • Become a member
  • Sign up for our press releases
  • Subscribe to our newsletters
  • Contact us

Quick links

Language editions

Privacy Policy & Terms of Service

Sitemap

© 2024 World Economic Forum