Himalayan villagers on global warming frontline

KYANGJIN GOMPA, Nepal (AFP) – Standing in the Himalayan valley of Langtang, Rinjin Dorje Lama remembers where he used to play as a child in the 1960s. "When I was a kid, it was a lot longer," said Lama, pointing at the Lirung glacier surrounded by snowy peaks on Nepal’s northern border with Tibet. "We used to play on the glacier, and it came right down to the monastery, but now it’s about two kilometres (1.2 miles) further back." Temperatures in the Himalayas are rising by around 0.06 degrees Celsius (0.108 Fahrenheit) annually, according to a long-term study by the Nepalese department of hydrology. The rate is far above the global average given last year by the UN’s senior scientists, who said surface temperatures have risen by a total of 0.74 degrees C over the past 100 years.