00:00Our village was beautiful, then suddenly gloves struck, our homes were destroyed, our
00:10farmland was washed away.
00:16My team and I are here today to build an ice stupa, also known as an ice tower.
00:25Climate change poses many threats, biodiversity loss, erosion and more.
00:30One promising solution is glacier grafting.
00:51This region in northern Pakistan is part of what is called the third pole.
00:55It got this name because it is a vast, mountainous area covered with snow and glaciers that has
01:01more frozen water than anywhere else on earth, outside the Arctic and Antarctic.
01:08The streams, lakes and rivers formed by these glaciers sustain the livelihood of millions
01:14of people.
01:16But rising global temperatures threaten this landscape.
01:26These glaciers are crucial not only for Pakistan, but for the entire world.
01:31And their rapid melting is a global concern.
01:39As glaciers melt, the effects are significant both globally and locally.
01:45They impact everything from snow leopards to agriculture and floods to livelihoods.
01:52Climate change drives these challenges.
01:59The most pressing threat for local communities is glacial lake outburst floods, the GLOFs.
02:06These floods occur when lakes formed by a glacial meltwater burst, unleashing devastating
02:13torrents downstream that sweep away everything in their path.
02:17The impacts of climate change on Pakistan are severe and diverse.
02:22The 2022 mega floods are a stark reminder of the scale of damage that climate change
02:29brings in its wake.
02:31The flood impacted about 33 million people, of which about 9 million lived below the poverty
02:38line.
02:39And the combined loss and damage that was estimated for the floods was about $30 billion.
02:48One such GLOF struck the village of Kunais in 2022.
02:55Nusrat Fatima and her family were among the hundreds affected.
03:05The water took away everything, leaving only destruction behind.
03:17This is our village, Kunais.
03:19It was once beautiful and we were happy here.
03:21Then disaster struck, our homes were destroyed and our farmlands were ruined.
03:33People had to leave, some moved far away, while others went to big cities to find work.
03:46But instead of giving up, the people of this region decided to act.
03:51With support from national and international organizations, they are now working to tackle
03:56the climate crisis head-on.
03:57Dr. Zakir Hussain Zakir, Director of Planning and Development at the University of Baltistan,
04:05is at the forefront of the fight against climate change, using local knowledge and modern science.
04:15Glacier grafting, also called glacier farming or glacier seeding, is a centuries-old indigenous
04:21technique.
04:22It involves placing ice blocks at high altitudes where they can fuse and grow into a larger
04:28glacier over time.
04:29If the site is selected carefully, the chances of success are high.
04:39Locals refer to this process as the marriage of glaciers, which leads to the formation
04:44of new glaciers.
04:46The most critical step is finding a location at an altitude of over 4000 meters where there
04:52is no direct sunlight.
04:57Locals then transport two types of glacier ice to this site.
05:01One is dusty ice, considered male ice, while the other one is transparent glacier ice,
05:07considered female.
05:11These ice chunks are placed side-by-side in a well-like pit.
05:16Water from nearby streams is added, followed by layers of charcoal and straw, to help preserve
05:22the ice.
05:27Prayers and rituals are performed throughout the process.
05:31It takes a few decades, but the grafted ice eventually develops into a fully formed glacier.
05:37We have planted four or five glaciers in Gilgit-Badasan from 2019 to 2024.
05:44It will take five to six or six to seven years to start the accumulation from the air, from
05:54the snow, and you can say from the rain.
05:57And we are quite optimistic that they will serve their purpose to mitigate the adverse
06:02effect of climate change.
06:08Locals are finding solutions to water shortages in the Pari village of Kharmang district in
06:15Gilgit-Baltistan.
06:17Each year, people of all ages come together to construct ice towers, also known as artificial
06:23glaciers.
06:29This community was the first in Pakistan to build these ice towers.
06:34We start this ice two-pass system from November and December, and it takes almost three or
06:42four months to develop a mass in open air.
06:47This ice two-pass system is basically a short-term solution to address the shortage of water
06:53from March to April, and then the glacier melt will cover the gap.
07:01The process is straightforward yet effective.
07:07These ice towers are built at an altitude of over 4,000 meters above sea level.
07:16Water is piped down from a spring located 2,000 feet above the construction site.
07:22When the water is sprayed into the freezing air, it turns into ice crystals.
07:28Eventually these ice crystals accumulate and form a tower-like structure that stores
07:33water for the upcoming months.
07:39My team and I are here today to construct an ice two-pass.
07:43Our community has been working together for the past seven years to create these ice towers.
07:48This is the first ice tower of the 2024-25 season, and we are pleased that we have successfully
07:56completed the work.
08:01By the time summer arrives, these towers store up to six million liters of water.
08:08This water is then used for drinking and farming, solving the region's water crisis.
08:20Before we had ice towers, water shortages were severe.
08:23Women had to stay awake for nights to fetch water and water crops.
08:28Now we get water easily during the day.
08:30Our crops are thriving and life has become much easier.
08:37Due to increasing global warming and rising atmospheric temperatures, the melting of glaciers
08:43has also accelerated, posing a risk to local populations.
08:54In order to save lives from the effects of climate change, the UNDP has introduced an
08:59early warning system in collaboration with the Pakistani government and other institutions.
09:05This interconnected system is playing an important role in saving people's lives.
09:11The early warning system basically timely intimates the community regarding any uncertainty
09:17within glaciers, inside the glaciers, and on the snout of glaciers.
09:23So the automatic warning system will timely intimate the community to just evacuate to
09:31the safer areas, to evacuate to the safe zone, so that the human lives may be protected from
09:38any uncertainty.
09:42Local volunteers are responsible for maintaining these stations after construction.
09:49Abidin Khan is also one of the volunteers and looks after an early warning system unit.
09:55The early warning system helps us detect floods before they happen.
10:02We can now evacuate people and livestock in time, saving lives and livelihoods.
10:13In the last few years, half a dozen glacier crafts have been done under the supervision
10:18of Dr Zakir Hussain Zakir.
10:23The ice tower that Yasir and his team started building in 2018 has now spread to nearly
10:30two dozen places in Gilgit and Baltistan.
10:38Despite the challenges and threats posed by climate change, these heroes remain hopeful
10:43about the future and about protecting local communities from the effect of rising temperatures.
10:50Inshallah, our baby glacier in Bongbong will grow over the next 25 years and ultimately
10:58merge with the parent glacier in Gangsange.
11:11Our vision is to construct ice tupas in every water-scarce region by 2050.
11:18The one behind me today marks just the beginning.
11:29I long for my old village.
11:33My dream is to see it thrive once again.
11:36I wish for the families who left to come back home to live together happily again, without
11:41the fear of glove.
11:49This is not just your or my issue, it's ours.
11:53Climate change affects us all.
11:55We must stop thinking in terms of mine and yours and start thinking about our shared future.
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