In the lead-up to World Water Day (March 22), the theme of which is 'Glacier Preservation', Sustainable Population Australia (SPA) warns that people dependent on glacial meltwater for crops will face even worse food insecurity as population numbers continue to grow.
SPA National President Peter Strachan says that billions of people as well as global ecosystems are at risk of devastation as glaciers melt faster than ever due to human induced climate change.
"Glaciers are melting earlier in spring, just as crops are being sown," says Mr Strachan. "This is not a problem at the time, but it is a problem later in the season when there is less meltwater. Farmers then need to supplement with groundwater if there is insufficient rain.
"As more farmland is opened up because there are more mouths to feed, aquifers are over pumped, putting at risk the ongoing ability to grow crops.
"Increased meltwater can trigger landslides or glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) that flood communities downstream. Changes in meltwater can also affect a region's hydropower industry that underpins development.
"Pakistan, the country with the highest number of glaciers outside the world's poles, is one country particularly vulnerable to long-term changes in run-off.
"The Pakistan floods of 2022 that submerged a third of the country and caused a humanitarian crisis, were primarily caused by unusually heavy monsoon rains, but water from melting glaciers also contributed to the flooding.
"Prior to the monsoon, Pakistan had experienced a period of record high temperatures that topped 50 °C, largely As put by climate change. The heatwave caused more meltwater than usual to enter the Indus River and its tributaries.
"Unless climate change can be turned around, Pakistan can expect more of the same, and with its population growing by over 3.8 million people a year, more and more people will be vulnerable to drowning and hunger."
Mr Strachan added that it is not just countries with glaciers that are suffering.
"South Australia is experiencing water shortages after two years of drought and a long, hot summer. Adelaide had its driest summer in 33 years and 2024 was the driest year since 2006. If this trend continues, agriculture will become increasingly unviable in South Australia. It certainly should not be entertaining the prospect of further population growth."
Sustainable Population Australia (SPA) recently launched a report, "Big thirsty Australia: how population growth threatens our water security and sustainability".
