Because of rising global temperatures due to climate change, Venezuela may become the first country in modern history to lose all of its glaciers, writes UNN citing CGTN.
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The International Cryosphere Climate Initiative (ICCI) recently published a post on X that states, "Venezuela has officially lost its last glacier after La Corona Glacier on Humboldt Peak, at 4,900 meters above sea level, became too small to be classified as a glacier.
Because of rising global temperatures due to climate change, Venezuela, as indicated, "could become the first country in modern history to lose all of its glaciers.
The country's Sierra Nevada de Merida mountain range once had six glaciers located about 5,000 meters above sea level. However, by 2011, five of them had disappeared, leaving only the Humboldt Glacier, The Guardian reported.
An attempt by the Venezuelan government to publish a plan in December to cover the remaining ice with a thermal blanket drew criticism because it could contaminate habitats with plastic particles.
Maximiliano Herrera, an extreme weather researcher, told X that "the next countries that could be left without glaciers are Indonesia, Mexico and Slovenia.
The reason is the proximity of these countries to the equator and low-lying mountain ranges, which makes their ice caps particularly vulnerable to the effects of global warming.