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Lakes Due to global warming, many lakes of the world have dried up, or are in the process of drying up. Lake Cachet in Chile disap- peared completely, leaving a large puddle in 2008. The water levels of Lake Superior, the world’s largest freshwater reservoir, have also fallen drastically. Rivers The Ganges in India, which is fed by the Gangotri Glacier, is beginning to run dry because the glacier is shrinking. It is shrinking at a rate of 40 yards (36 m) per year, almost twice as fast as twenty years ago. Many scientists say that the glacier will disappear by 2030. The Arctic and Antarctica The Arctic and Antarctica remain covered with ice for most of the year. However, due to soaring temperatures, these ice reserves are melting. In Antarctica, a chunk of ice larger than the state of New York was head- ed for collapse in 2019. Many scientists think that the ice shelf was weakened by the warm winds blowing over it.

Climate Facts

● ● The number of glaciers in Glacier National Park has dropped from 150 to twenty-six since 1850. It is estimated that within the next twenty-five to thirty years, all the remaining glaciers will melt. ● ● There are about a hundred million species on Earth, out of which only 1.4 million have been identified.

The Future of Biodiversity

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