What a Glacier’s Secret Reveals: Human Stories and Hope Amid Melting Ice

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A gasp of amazement from a shepherd echoed across Lady Valley in Pakistan this summer: “What I have seen is unbelievable. The body was intact. The clothes were not even torn.” The testimony of Omar Khan, to the BBC, captures the amazement and astonishment that swept across the remote region of Kohistan when Naseeruddin’s skeleton, missing for 28 years, came away from the glacial ice in exceptional condition.

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This remarkable discovery is more than the story of one man and his family, but a glimpse into the forceful, at times unsettling, ways that climate change is remaking landscapes and lives at the highest elevations of the world.

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1. The Science Behind Glacier Preservation

When a human body is engulfed by a glacier, nature’s deep freeze asserts itself. As Prof Muhammad Bilal, head of Comsats University Islamabad’s Department of Environment, describes, “The extreme cold freezes it fast, preventing decomposition.” Over time, without water and oxygen present inside the glacier, the remains mummify, halting the natural processes of decomposition. This is how Naseeruddin’s body, along with clothing, was so gruesomely preserved for nearly three decades. It’s a phenomenon that has fascinated scientists for decades and, in this case, been given a rare, emotional reunion to a family long plagued by uncertainty.

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2. Glaciers Melt: The Global Warming Link

But why is it happening now? The answer is the accelerating melting of glaciers in the Hindu Kush–Karakoram–Himalaya range. Over the past three decades, mountain temperatures have risen much faster than in lowlands, an “elevation-dependent warming” phenomenon. In Chitral, Pakistan, glaciers retreated by 816 km² (31%) between 1992 and 2022 from the total area with an acceleration in recession rates after 1997 as well as after 2007. Satellite estimates reveal that maximum and minimum land surface temperatures have increased sharply, and annual precipitation especially snowfall has fallen, exposing the glaciers to more direct sunshine and speeding the retreat. As one report found, the snowmelt season starts earlier now and the last remaining glaciers are melting at an alarming rate.

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3. The Human Story: Loss, Resilience, and Closure

The disappearance of Naseeruddin in 1997 was a tragedy that put his family on hold. Escaping bullets with his brother, he hid in a frozen cave and vanished. Despite exhaustive searches and an official funeral, his disappearance remained a mystery until this year. The finding of his body, marked by an ID card, was a bittersweet end. His brother would have to decide whether to bury Naseeruddin in the valley that had been his secret keeper or take him back home. This tale, heartbreaking and healing in its own right, is a poignant reminder of the very individualistic cost of climate change.

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4. Glaciers: Asia’s Water Towers Under Threat

The Himalaya-Karakoram range itself has over 39,660 glaciers, the largest mass of ice outside of polar regions. Glaciers are the “water towers of Asia” that provide drinking water, irrigation, and hydropower to more than two billion downstream individuals. As glaciers retreat, the risks rise: flash flooding, water shortages, and destruction of critical nutrients for ecosystems. Over 3,000 glacial lakes have been discovered in Pakistan alone, of which 33 are extremely unstable and pose the risk of immediate flooding to millions of people.

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5. Developments in Glacier Observation and Preservation

Although the scale of the work may appear daunting, scientists and local villagers are far from inactive. Only 24 glaciers of the Himalaya-Karakoram are continually observed, but new methods are being invented. Researchers recommend demarcating micro-climate regions and monitoring a representative glacier in each to better understand regional changes. Remote sensing, satellite data, and artificial intelligence-based analysis are helping track glacier condition and predict hazards. “We need at least one set of measurements spanning many decades for each of these Himalayan regions to be able to understand what’s happening,” quotes glaciologist Inés Dussaillant Lehmann.

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6. Community Adaptation and Resilience

Mountain communities are rising to meet the challenge using both conventional wisdom and technical innovation. In Gilgit-Baltistan, farmers are grafting glaciers an old ritual of “mating” glaciers to provoke growth and ensure water supplies. Other innovations like ice stupas artificial glaciers that retain water in winter and melt it out in spring are becoming popular. International and government agencies are also introducing early warning systems, flood walls, and risk-reduction infrastructure to protect those living in the shadow of melting ice.

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7. The Power of Regional and Global Collaboration

The scale of glacier melting and water risk transcends borders. Regional science diplomacy is becoming a lifeline, as ICIMOD, UNESCO, and ESCAP are leading cross-border research, data sharing, and policy coordination. “Cooperation is now even more important than scientific breakthrough,” says Dr. Shabaz Khan of UNESCO. By building trust and sharing knowledge, countries in the Hindu Kush Himalaya are working to ensure water resources and resilience for millions.

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Naseeruddin’s tale, revealed by the thawing of a glacier, is both personal reckoning and call to action. While the mountains yield their secrets, they also remind us of our shared frailty and our capacity for hope, resilience, and collective care.

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