The HKH Women on Ice team taking measurements of debris thickness on Ponkar Glacier, Manang, Nepal

Photo: Purnima Shrestha

Our first all-female cryosphere science expedition in the HKH

Science is a male-dominated field worldwide, cryosphere science especially so, and nowhere is this gender inequality more pronounced than in the Hindu Kush Himalaya. While ICIMOD has championed change since the inception of its cryosphere monitoring and research work, in 2011: 2024 saw this work gather pace, with the launch its first all-women cryosphere field expedition, HKH Women on Ice. WOI gave nine women researchers from Bhutan, China, India, Nepal, and Pakistan the opportunity of [a week of] hands-on training in field-based cryosphere data collection, working alongside illustrious female cryosphere researchers including IPCC author Miriam Jackson and ICIMOD’s Finu Shrestha. The women learned how to maintain automatic weather stations, and ways to collect data from glaciers and assess glacial lakes. It is hoped that the expedition is an important first step in forging a network of skilled women cryosphere scientists from the region, which, in turn, holds real potential for long-term change.

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