The lone tropical glacier in Indonesia could disappear as early as 2025

[ASEAN NOW Content Team]

 

To commemorate Earth Day, CNA examines how climate change has hastened the melting of Papua's Eternity Glacier.

Primary school pupils in Indonesia are taught that the country is home to a noteworthy feature: the only tropical glacier in the region, located in Papua's Jayawijaya highlands.

Some name it the Eternity Glacier since it is located at Jaya summit, or Puncak Jaya in Indonesian.

However, in a few years, teachers may not be able to tell their students about this geographical trivia.

 

The glacier's days are numbered after nearly 5,000 years of existence, as study suggests that it is melting and only a small portion of it remains.

Mr Donaldi Permana, a climate research and development coordinator with the country's meteorological, climatological, and geophysical agency (BMKG), told CNA that the glacier would be gone between 2025 and 2027.
Since 2009, he has spent a lot of time studying the glacier.

 

The melting of the glacier is thought to be caused primarily by global warming.

Mr. Permana explained that this has been happening since the industrial revolution in 1850, when industrialised countries transitioned from rural economies to ones dominated by industries, which emit greenhouse gas emissions, causing global warming.

"However, we didn't realise the (Indonesian) glacier was melting until the 1990s," he said.

 

At 4,884 metres above sea level, Jayawijaya Mountain is found in Lorentz National Park.
It is Indonesia's highest peak, and some people refer to it as the Carstensz Pyramid because the mountain contains multiple summits with distinct names, according to Mr Permana.

Mr Permana pointed out that other tropical glaciers in South America and Africa are also melting.

However, because Puncak Jaya is lower in elevation than other mountains with tropical glaciers, it will vanish sooner in Indonesia.

Dwikorita Karnawati, the head of the BMKG, also told parliament at the end of last month that the glacier might be gone by 2025.