Editing Geography of Bhutan (section)

==Glaciers==
{{main|Glaciers of Bhutan}}
[[Glacier]]s in northern Bhutan, which covered about 10 per cent of the total surface area in the 1980s, are an important renewable source of water for Bhutan's rivers. Fed by fresh snow each winter and slow melting in the summer, the glaciers bring millions of litres of fresh water to Bhutan and downriver areas each year. Glacial melt adds to [[monsoon]]-swollen rivers, however, also contributes to flooding. Where glacial movement temporary blocks riverflows, downstream areas may be threatened by [[glacial lake outburst flood]]s (GLOFs), also called ''[[jökulhlaup]]s''.<ref name=CSg>{{Country study|author=Robert L. Worden |country=Bhutan |section=Glaciers |abbr=bt |editor=Andrea Matles Savada |date=September 1991 |pd=yes}}</ref>

Bhutan's glaciers are melting. A 2008 [[United Nations]] report suggested that due to rising temperatures, glaciers in Bhutan were retreating at a rate of {{Convert|30-40|m|4=-1}} per year, poised to make many lakes burst their banks and send millions of gallons of floodwater downstream. This among many other [[environmental issues in Bhutan|climate-related issues]] identified in the report prompted the regional association of government ministers to establish the Southeast Asia Regional Health Emergency Fund in [[Thimphu]] in September 2007.<ref name=BO1/> Similarly, the member nations of [[South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation]] (SAARC) adopted bilateral agreements including measures on climate change and glaciers at its summit in April 2010.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bhutanobserver.bt/summit-declaration-ready-for-adoption/ |title=Summit declaration ready for adoption |first=Sonam |last=Pelden |date=10 April 2010 |publisher=Bhutan Observer online |access-date=27 March 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110120041637/http://www.bhutanobserver.bt/summit-declaration-ready-for-adoption/ |archive-date=20 January 2011 }}</ref>

The 2008 UN report also indicated Himalayan glaciers would melt within 25 years,<ref name=BO2>{{cite web |url=http://www.bhutanobserver.bt/himalayan-glaciers-not-retreating-says-new-report/ |title=Himalayan glaciers not retreating, says new report |first=Namgay |last=Tshering |date=29 January 2011 |publisher=Bhutan Observer online |access-date=27 March 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110207213137/http://www.bhutanobserver.bt/himalayan-glaciers-not-retreating-says-new-report/ |archive-date=7 February 2011 }}</ref> however [[Prime Minister of Bhutan|Prime Minister]] [[Jigme Thinley]] expressed a more dim outlook in a press conference in late March 2010, stating, "Our glaciers are withdrawing very fast and we have reasons to worry that they may in fact disappear not in 2035, but even earlier."<ref name=BO4>{{cite web |url=http://www.bhutanobserver.bt/looking-beyond-hydropower/ |title=Looking beyond hydropower |date=2 April 2010 |first=Sonam |last=Pelden |publisher=Bhutan Observer online |access-date=27 March 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111003050052/http://www.bhutanobserver.bt/looking-beyond-hydropower/ |archive-date=3 October 2011 }}</ref>

The new inventory "Bhutan Glacial Inventory 2018" includes 700 glaciers covering total area of {{Convert|629.55|±|0.02|km2|abbr=on}} in the northern frontiers of Bhutan. Glacier area covers 1.64% of the total land cover in Bhutan.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.nchm.gov.bt/home/pageMenu/32|title=National Center for Hydrology and Meteorology|website=nchm.gov.bt|access-date=2019-07-28}}</ref>