The Third Pole: A brief introduction

Identified by frozen features (cryosphere), the Third Pole refers to the region consisting of Tibetan Plateau and its surrounding areas located in, and around, the Himalayas. The region covers over 5 million square kilometres, with an elevation of over 4,000 meters above sea level. The Third Pole is the largest, and highest, mountain region on Earth. Similar to the Arctic and Antarctic, the Third Pole contains an estimated 100,000 square kilometres of glaciers, which hold the world's largest concentrated stock of ice outside the Arctic and Antarctic. The region comprises approximately 46,000 glaciers. Like other polar regions, the Third Pole is also sensitive to rising temperatures linked to global climate change.

Because of its location in a high altitude mountain region, the impact of climatic change is increasing more rapidly than the global average, hence contributing to the rapid melting of glaciers. Research suggests that, since 2005, more than 500 small glaciers have disappeared, and many more are threatened in the future unless impacts of climate change are mitigated. The impacts of changes in the Third Pole region significantly influence climates globally. The complex interactions of natural processes affect biodiversity, ecosystem functions and the hydrologic cycle. The implications are significant at the regional and global levels.

Regionally, more than 1.5 billion people in more than 10 countries (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan) are affected by declining freshwater supplies. As regional environmental transformation continues, future changes could threaten not only natural ecological processes, but also the distribution of resources, and social and economic sustainability. Such a threat raises the prospect of regional conflicts among countries in the region that are politically fragile. As in the polar regions, the melting of glaciers in the Third Pole contributes to sea level rise with long-term devastating effects on low-lying regions and the people living there.