JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia’s little-known glacier could disappear as early as 2025, the Meteorological, Climatological and Geophysical Agency BMKG said on Sunday, as rising temperatures have accelerated ice melt.

The tropical glacier, one of the few remaining in the world, sits on a mountain near Puncak Jaya in Indonesia’s easternmost province, Papua. It has suffered a rapid loss of ice cover and thickness over the past two decades, which could lead to the complete disappearance of snow in just a few years.

The Papuan Glacier is a remnant of glaciers that have been around for around 5,000 years, researchers said. It is one of the few remaining tropical glaciers, along with others located in South America and Africa.

Dodo Gunawan, who heads BMKG’s climate change department, told Arab News: “The snow on Puncak Jaya will soon disappear. This is happening because of global warming.

“Because summit temperatures have already risen, it can no longer support snow to compact into the glacier.”

Although the glacier has been melting for years, rising global temperatures and reduced rainfall that have been exacerbated by El Nino – a phenomenon that causes tropical ocean water and atmospheric temperatures to warm – have accelerated the thinning of the glacier.

Donaldi Permana, the agency’s deputy director for climate and air quality research, said that at the start of the industrial revolution in 1850, the total area of ​​glaciers in the Puncak Jaya mountain range was estimated at about 20 km2. In 2002, the ice cover in the region had decreased to around 2 km2 and was recorded at 0.34 km2 in May 2020.

The thickness of the glacier has been significantly reduced since 2010, when it was 32 meters, to 22 meters in 2016. The ice has thinned to around 8 meters in 2021.

“Under these conditions, between 2025 and 2027, the ice is likely to disappear,” Permana told Arab News.

Tropical glaciers are highly sensitive indicators and recorders of climate change, according to the World Meteorological Organization.

The disappearance of Papua’s snowcapped peaks would not only mean the loss of a rare site for Indonesia, but could also affect the region’s flora and fauna, an aspect that Permana said researchers still need to explore further.

It will also be a huge cultural loss for the local Papuan community.

“Culturally, there are indigenous tribes around Puncak Jaya who regard the glacier as a sacred site. The disappearance of the ice will impact them,” Permana said.