Photo: Himalaya Ice-Melt Threat Monitored in Nepal

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This false-color NASA image shows the approximate retreat of the Gangotri Glacier in the Himalaya mountain range between 1780 and 2001.

Because of global climate change, the glacier has been retreating at a rate of 75 feet (23 meters) annually, according to a WWF report. The Gangotri is the source of the Ganges (or Ganga) river in India, meaning reduced glacial meltwater could leave 500 million people and 37 percent of India's irrigated land short of water.

Photograph courtesy NASA Earth Observatory

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