As the highest peak on the African continent, Mount Kilimanjaro has an unusual significance for Tanzania and Africa as a whole. The glaciers at the top of Kilimanjaro for more than a thousand years are of great scientific value. But in recent years, as the problem of climate change has become more acute, speculation about the disappearance or immination of glaciers on Mount Kilimanjaro has never stopped. A reporter from China Central Radio and Television Station traveled to the Tanzanian town of Moshi to explore the impact on Africa's highest peak.
Kilimanjaro is the highest peak in Africa and is known as the "Roof of Africa". When the name is mentioned, a snow-capped mountain in the sweltering equatorial region always comes to mind. In the eyes of the locals, this snow-capped is a symbol of good fortune that not only nurtures life up and down the mountain, but also brings tourism dividends to the town below Kilimanjaro.
Shi Yue, reporter of the main station: Local legend says that if you can see the snowy tops of Kilimanjaro when you look up in the morning, then this day will indicate good luck. But like the glaciers of Antarctica and the Arctic, the snow tops on Mount Kilimanjaro are shrinking due to climate change. Recent scientific studies suggest that by 2050, the snowtops on Kilimanjaro will disappear. I doubt the claim that in less than thirty years, the 1400-year-old glaciers on the mountain will disappear? If so, what would this mean for the locals?
Our search for answers began at a century-old inn at the foot of the mountain. It is an inn that has been offering mountain climbing services to tourists since the 30s of the 20th century. For nearly a hundred years, they have collected many precious photographs documenting the changes in the snowtops of Mount Kilimanjaro. When we confront these photos, we are surprised by how much the glacier is shrinking.
Desmond, owner of the Marangu Hotel: The picture above was taken in 1920, so it's more than a hundred years ago, and you can see that the snow roof on it was still very large. But you see, in the 1940s, and then in 1996, this was another shot at the end of the 20th century, when there were still a lot of glaciers. These you see are glaciers, not snow, that kind of snow that just fell, this is ice. And then you see this is a few years old, this one is 2005. Yes, then this one is from 2006, and now there's a little bit on it, but you can already see from these pictures that the glaciers have decreased.
Mountain guide Simon Mtuy: I have been working on the mountain as a guide for 28 years. In the last 28 years, I've [climbed] almost 500 times [Kilimanjaro], and there are very obvious changes. I saw a lot of change in the mountains. When I first went up the mountain, the glacier was very large and the water flowed into a river. Now there are very, very few glaciers.
According to a 2020 survey on carbon emissions "wealth gap" released by relevant international relief organizations, the richest 1% of the world's population has emitted more than twice as many greenhouse gases as the poorest 50% of the population over the past 25 years. Global warming caused by carbon emissions is undoubtedly one of the main reasons for the shrinking snow dome in Kilimanjaro. In 1912, the summit of Kilimanjaro was first measured. So far, the glacier at the summit has retreated by 82 percent compared to 1912. Measurements also show that the height of the summit ice sheet has decreased by at least 17 meters since 1962.
Kikoti: It's very real that the ice in Kilimanjaro is already disappearing, and that this has a lot to do with climate change. Because the ice of Kilimanjaro is greatly affected by precipitation, which has been insufficient in recent years, coupled with the influence of sunshine and other factors, the glacier is constantly decreasing.
The retreat of the glacier at the top of Kilimanjaro is undoubtedly a fact. So what impact does this have on the ground? Kilimanjaro was first summited in 1889, and since then, more and more mountaineers have come here to experience the charm of the equatorial snowy peaks. Many beers, mineral waters, etc. in Tanzania use "Kilimanjaro" as a label. Before the pandemic, Kilimanjaro National Park welcomed more than 50,000 visitors a year. With the rise of mountaineering, local tourism has also boomed, creating a large number of jobs for mountain guides, porters and so on.
Mountain guide Simon Mtui: Kilimanjaro has an unusual significance, people want to see glaciers in the tropics, which is really a great resource for the equatorial region. I think glaciers are one of the things that attract a lot of people who come to Kilimanjaro. So of course I worry that with the melting of glaciers that can occur or is happening, it will definitely affect the livelihoods of porters and mountain guides on the mountain.
Due to the rise in temperature caused by climate change, the ecosystem of Kilimanjaro has also been severely damaged, which in turn has affected the region's water sources and the production and livelihood of local people.
Kilimanjaro is the highest freestanding mountain in the world and is located in the tropics with a very unique biosphere. At a vertical altitude of 5,895 meters, six natural zones of different morphology are distributed, providing shelter for wildlife in the hot, warm and cold zones. At the same time, this rich and fragile ecosystem provides water from life to production throughout northern Tanzania and southern Kenya.
Residents of the Rombo region of Kilimanjaro province: The water used by our locals comes from Kilimanjaro, and we rely on seasonal rainfall for agricultural production, but it is very hot in the dry season, and the lack of water has become a big problem. For example, when students come back from school, they immediately have to go to the mountains to find water to get water, and when they come back, it is dark, so it is really a big challenge to obtain water during the dry season.
The ecosystem of Kilimanjaro has been severely damaged due to rising temperatures due to climate change. The United Nations Environment Programme has published a report entitled "Sustainable Development of Mountain Regions in East Africa under Climate Change", which specifically studies the case of Mount Kilimanjaro. Fires caused by warming have destroyed about 13,000 hectares of forest since 1976, the report said. The degradation of forest land, in turn, seriously disturbs the water balance on the mountain, which in turn affects the regional water source and the production and life of the local people.
Mountain guide Simon Mtuy: Our food chain, our food production, depends more on nature, we have to live more on nature, but we are the one that bears the most consequences [of climate change], and melting glaciers will bring about major transformations in this region.
Shi Yue, reporter of the main station: The location where I am standing now is a local river. Ten years ago, the river was very abundant. In fact, the African continent's degree of industrialization is not high, carbon emissions are not large, Africa's greenhouse gas emissions account for less than 4% of global gas emissions, but the degree of climate warming far exceeds the global average, becoming the most prominent region of global warming, adding more uncertainties to the continent's already very fragile economy.
To reduce the impact of climate change on the Kilimanjaro glacier, forests and regional ecosystems, the Tanzanian government and local NGOs have begun encouraging residents to participate in reforestation. For the local community, this is the most effective and least costly action to combat climate change.
Justin Moshi, Head of Community Tree Planting: I started this tree planting project 7 years ago. I think 100,000 saplings will be provided to farmers every year for 10 years, 5,000 in the rainy season in November and December, and another 5,000 in the rainy season in April. What is the purpose of planting trees? It is to protect our water sources and ensure that Mount Kilimanjaro can always provide us with water. During the rainy season, water can flow into rivers or dams, so that our water shortage problem can be solved.
Mountain guide Simon Mtuy: I think we need to think about a more specific agenda, legislators have to do more, we have to act. Because it's more for the kids, our next generation will be more widely affected in the future because mountains are everything.
Shi Yue, reporter of the main station: The statue behind me reads "Water is life" in Swahili. For the locals, Kilimanjaro provides them with a source of life. For thousands of years, they treated the mountain with respect, but under the influence of climate change in the past hundred years, agriculture and basic life have once again fallen into trouble before entering industrialization. Africa should not be neglected when it comes to climate change. Hopefully, in another hundred years, when readers read "The Snow of Kilimanjaro", they will not have to rely solely on imagination.
From: CCTV News Client
Source: CCTV set