Venezuela now bereft of glaciers as the last remaining one turns into just an ice field

Scientists have reclassified the last remaining glacier of Venezuela as an ice field after it shrunk and is no longer a glacier. In the world's struggle against climate change, Venezuela has become the first nation to have lost all its glaciers in modern times. 

The South American nation had six glaciers as recently as 1910. The glaciers covered a combined area of 1,000 square kilometres. However, amid the global heating, these glaciers have shrunk so much, that they do not match the criteria for being classified as glaciers. 

All six glaciers were located in the Sierra Nevada de Mérida mountain range, out of which five disappeared by 2011. The Humboldt glacier was the only one left near the country's second-highest peak, Pico Humboldt. Now, it is also gone. 

A report by news agency AFP mentioned that the government hopes to restore the glacier to its former glory using a geothermal blanket. But some think that it's too little, too late. 

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Julio Cesar Centeno, a university professor and advisor to the UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), told AFP: "In Venezuela, there are no more glaciers. What we have is a piece of ice that is 0.4 per cent of its original size." 

Several experts, including Centeno, are convinced that the loss of the Humboldt glacier, also known as La Corona, is irreversible. The glacier is some 4,900 metres above sea level. 

It was projected that the Humboldt glacier would last at least another decade, but it melted much faster than expected. It is now in an area of less than two hectares. 

As quoted by The Guardian, Maximiliano Herrera, a climatologist and weather historian, said, "Other countries lost their glaciers several decades ago after the end of the little ice age but Venezuela is arguably the first one to lose them in modern times." 

Indonesia, Mexico and Slovenia will also lose their glacier cover, said Herrera.

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What the government is doing to mitigate the problem? 

Similar to what European countries use to protect ski slopes in warmer weather, the Venezuelan government announced a plan in December to slow the melting, They said they will cover the area with a thermal mesh made of polypropylene plastic. It would stop the sun's rays. 

The cover was delivered to Humboldt Peak by helicopter in 35 separate pieces, each measuring 2.75 meters by 80 metres, in December, but the government has not said whether it has already been unrolled. Scientists are also sceptical of the idea. 

(With inputs from agencies)