Waters From the Third Pole

Large-scale changes are occurring in river systems around the world, and human- and climate-induced alterations are especially salient in the rivers of the Hindu Kush-Karakoram-Himalayan systems and the Tibetan Plateau, together named the Third Pole, High Mountain Asia, or the Asia Water Tower. The rivers originating in the Third Pole drain a vast area extending across Central, South, and Southeast Asia, bringing water, energy, and food security to 20% of the world's population. Three large river systems form in the Himalayas and 10 other systems fall from the Tibetan Plateau, the highest, elevated landform in the world. The Himalayas are known as the Hindu-Kush-Karakoram, and the waters of these mountains reach into Pakistan, India, Bhutan, Nepal, and Bangladesh. The Tibetan…