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Photo London: A Question of Ice

May 18, 2022
18:00–20:00PM BST

Photo by Daniel Schwartz / VII. Glaciar Pastoruri, Cordillera Blanca, Peru, on 13 January, 2016. Towards the east, the direction of the Amazonas Basin, from where precipitation comes, all glaciers have disappeared. The total glacial area of the Cordillera Blanca glaciers shrunk by more than 30 percent in the period of 1930 to the present. The marked glacier recession since the 1980s may not be explained alone in changes of temperatures and precipitation. It is suggested that the glaciers are still reacting to the positive air temperature rise before 1980. Especially small and low-lying glaciers are characterized by a serious imbalance and may disappear in the near future. Peru, having the largest number of tropical glaciers in the world, desperately needs the water released from the glaciers which act as reservoirs. The runoff from the Cordillera Blanca glaciers is calculated to provide 10 to 20% of the total annual water run-off in the Rio Santa valley below, but it can reach 40% in the six or seven months of dry season. Glacial melt threatens the supply of drinking water, the country's power (80% of which has traditionally come from hydro-electricity), and the needs of the booming sectors of the economy—agro-exports and mining—, both absorbing huge volumes of water.

As part of Photo London 2022, William L. Fox, Director of the Center for Art and Environment at the Nevada Museum of Art, will discuss photography and ice with Daniel Schwartz and Jean de Pomereu. Click here to RSVP for the conversation.

Photo London: A Question of Ice

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