Living in Peru : your everyday companion

Living in Peru
Israel J. Ruiz


A recent report issued by the Glaciology Unit for the National Natural Resources Institute (INRENA) confirmed that Peru's glaciers are seriously being affected by global warming.

Aside from naming glaciers that are disappearing such as Pastoruri, the report pointed out that Broggi glacier, another glacier located atop Cordillera Blanca, had melted and completely disappeared because of global warming.

A part of the Andes range, Broggi was on Cordillera Blanca (Spanish for "White Mountain Range") in the Ancash Region of Peru.

Broggi glacier disappeared because of global warming and climate change, said Marco Zapata, head of the Glaciology Unit at IRENA.

"Not all glaciers recede at the same rate, it's not uniform, it depends on the temperature and the position of the glacier. Broggi disappeared in 2005," said Zapata.

He added that Pastoruri, a famous tourist destination in Peru 5,100 meters (17,000 feet) above sea level, was no longer considered a glacier, but was only snowcap now.

Nearly 40 percent of Pastoruri has melted in the past 10 years.

Scientists are concerned because unseasonably hot weather is melting ice before it can replenish itself, which is leading to disappearing glaciers.

According to INRENA, in the past 30 years, the Andes Mountains have lost 22 percent of their glacier area.