Written by Rinchen Angmo

The third pole derives its name from the fact that it contains the largest reserve of freshwater after the North and South Pole. The glaciers of the third pole feed some of the major rivers of Asia including Indus, Ganga, Brahmaputra, Mekong, Yangtze and the Yellow Rivers (Banskota 64). Can we really not talk about the fate of regions that form the third pole when it is the source of the ‘10 major river systems that provide irrigation, power and drinking water to over 1.9 billion people in Asia – over 24 % of the world’s population’? (thetthirdpole.net). When we see these figures, we must bear in mind that behind each number is an individual life, be it of a human or an animal. The magnitude of suffering that the imminent climate crisis can cause is beyond our imagination.