Venezuela Seeks to Slow Down the Humboldt Glacier Melting

On Wednesday, the Venezuelan Environment Ministry announced that it will launch a plan to slow down the melting of the Humboldt Glacier, which is located in the Merida state.

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A thermal mesh will be used in a pilot project whose purpose is to decelerate the melting of the last glacier in the Venezuelan Andes.

These thermal meshes are made of polypropylene and designed to prevent direct sunlight on the glacier by creating a microclimate where melting processes will be delayed significantly.

Venezuela will be the first tropical country to initiate such actions, which are aligned with policies "aimed at fighting the effects of the climate crisis," pointed out the Environment Ministry.

Over the last 30 years, the glaciers in the Andes mountain range have lost 42 percent of their surface, shrinking from 2,429 square kilometers in 1990 to 1,409 square kilometers in 2020, according to a study released in 2022 by the Brazilian environmental initiative MapBiomas.

The rate of loss of glaciers in the tropical region of the Andes, i.e., those located between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, is 28.4 kilometers per year.

So far, the most affected glaciers in this area have been those within 5,000 meters above sea level, as they have lost 80.25 percent of their area.