Melting ice: Why tropical glaciers matter, The Climate Question - BBC World Service

Some of the rarest glaciers in the world are found in Indonesia and East Africa. Meet the explorer who’s charting the dramatic decline of what are known as “tropical” glaciers.

Click here to subscribe to our channel 👉🏽 https://bbc.in/3VyyriM

There are hundreds of thousands of glaciers across the globe - mostly at the Poles or in mountain ranges such as the Alps or the Andes. But a few hundred have formed in high regions of Indonesia, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Kenya.

These tropical glaciers contain unique ecosystems and are crucial to the survival of local communities. But they are under threat from climate change – in fact in some cases 95 per cent of their ice has already disappeared!

Danish explorer Klaus Thymann founded the Project Pressure charity to measure and document the decline of tropical glaciers. He talks to Climate Question hosts Graihagh Jackson and Jordan Dunbar.

This interview was recorded in May 2025. The photos and images of tropical glaciers in Uganda and Indonesia are used courtesy of Project Pressure.

00:49 Meet explorer Klaus Thymann
01:08 The vanishing ice of Puncak Jaya, Indonesia
02:07 Why tropical glaciers are so vulnerable
03:20 Where tropical glaciers exist around the world
05:11 Klaus's love of adventure and the outdoors
06:04 Why glaciers matter for climate communication
07:40 How 3D photogrammetry maps glaciers
10:28 Why satellites can't do the job
12:09 Inside the Rwenzori Mountains, Uganda
14:15 The heather zone and giant lobelia
15:05 The loss of ice on Mount Baker and Mount Speke
15:55 The god in the ice
17:40 The glacier bucket list: Kamchatka

Watch more episodes from The Climate Question here 👉 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLz_B0PFGIn4dlFahw2svjb6-aW_BVOn4x

----------------
This is the official BBC World Service YouTube channel.
If you like what we do, you can also find us here:
Instagram 👉🏽 https://www.instagram.com/bbcworldservice
Twitter 👉🏽 https://twitter.com/bbcworldservice
Facebook 👉🏽 https://facebook.com/bbcworldservice
BBC World Service website 👉🏽 https://www.bbc.co.uk/worldserviceradio

Thanks for watching and subscribing!
#BBCWorldService #WorldService #BBC World Service #BBC News #glaciers #climatechange #Indonesia #Uganda