Glaciologists are arguing over how a highly contentious claim about the speed at which glaciers are melting came to be included in the latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

It was a dramatic declaration: glaciers across much of the Himalayas may be gone by 2035. When New Scientist heard this comment from a leading Indian glaciologist, we reported it. That was in 1999. The claim later appeared in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's most recent report - and it turns out that our article is the primary published source. (Editorial)

India

River flow response to the changing climate is a major concern in the Himalayan region. Present understanding regarding the impact of glacier shrinkage on the river flow variations is summarized in the IPCC 2007, which stated that "as these glaciers retreat due to global warming, river flows are increased in the short term, but the contribution of glacier melt will gradually decrease over the next few decades" and "the enhanced melting of glaciers leads at first to increased river runoff and discharge peaks and an increased melt season" (IPCC, 2007).