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Mountains recognized at the highest level

15.06.2017

Over the past decades, the area of glaciers in Tajikistan has decreased by 30-35 percent, said United Nations (UN) Secretary-General António Guterres during his visit to Tajikistan.

"Earlier today, he [the UN Secretary-General] was in Tajikistan, where he overflew the Pamir Mountains on his way to Lake Sarez. The Secretary-General said he was shocked by the effects of climate change he witnessed — in which 30 percent of Tajikistan’s glaciers have melted — and reiterated his calls for climate action. There is no time to lose, he stressed," said Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General, during the daily press briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson of the Secretary-General on 12 June.

The head of the UN called for strengthening the fight against climate change, stressing that humanity has no right to waste time.

The countries of Central Asia are facing the serious consequences of global warming. Glaciers in the region are melting, the process of desertification is growing, rivers are disappearing and the Aral Sea is almost dry. Over the past decades, the area of glaciers in Tajikistan has decreased by 30-35 percent.

In Turkmenistan, the Secretary-General will participate in the dialogue on the implementation of the UN Global Strategy to Combat Terrorism.

During a meeting with the Secretary-General, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon said that the Republic is experiencing the negative impacts of climate change.

"Ninety-three percent of Tajikistan's territory is mountainous, and 60 percent of the Central Asian water resources are provided by these territories. At the same time, our country, due to the peculiarities of its geographical location, is under the negative impact of climate change. Every year, the country is experiencing various natural disasters that create hundreds of millions of dollars in damage to the national economy and cause human casualties," said the Tajik President.

E. Rahmon also noted that climatic changes lead to the accelerated melting of glaciers and the overflow of rivers, thereby negatively impacting the state of such key sectors of the national economy as hydropower, agriculture and industry.

The original version of this story was published in Russian on CA-News.org.

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Photo: Twitter/@antonioguterres