The Melting Snows of Kilimanjaro – Will It Influence the Local Population Economically?

Snows on the peak of Kilimanjaro are predicted to be entirely disappeared by 2022. It is hard to imagine that the peak of the highest mountain in Africa, which is always covered by vast ice fields, will be melting completely. As reported by Independent.co.uk that melting of snows of Kilimanjaro is at a faster pace than at any time over the past 100 years. A team led by Professor Lonnie Thompson of Ohio State University said that the latest assessment of Kilimanjaro’s famous ice cap has confirmed that 85 per cent of the ice that covered the mountain in 1912 has been lost, and 26 per cent of the ice that was there in 2000 is now gone.

It is amazing to think how the world is going to change rapidly in the next few decades. The question is that will the change be limited ‘only’ to the environment, or will it also influence more aspects in our life?

Kilimanjaro has been known as a popular tourist attraction. It is a perfect place to do climbing and hiking. Tanzania is also a place where you can observe many wild animals, scenery, different tribes and culture, ecotourism and walking safari.

When the temperature rise in the next two decades, and the snows of Kilimanjaro melt completely, it will affect the wild animals there. The animals that live in the forest will be pushed to move higher to the mountain in order to maintain their optimum temperature. The problem is that mountain will provide different landscape and maybe less source of food for some animals. The condition get worse when the change of temperature starts to affect the plants.

Will Kilimanjaro and Tanzania lose its beauty due to global warming? If it really happens, how many people will lose their income since there will less tourist visiting the area? I always hope that the condition would not be that bad, but it requires more attention from all of us to help saving our environment.