Climate, Connectivity and Cooperation: A New Altitude in a Warming World - A Report

The Arctic region and the Hindu Kush Himalayan range are miles apart. Yet, there is hardly any contrast between these two regions; their pristine natural features, all-time sensitive ecosystems and a myriad of evidence that could unlock answers to some of the pressing issues about the changing geological and historical dynamics of our planet. At the same time, they are at the frontline against climate change, whose cascading effect could open Pandora’s box for the world thereafter.

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Not only that, human actions elsewhere have also aggravated the situation. An acknowledgement of the importance of these cryospheres is the need of the hour to not just mitigate the risk of climate change but also keep them up and running to secure the future of humanity.

SUBSERVIENCE TO CHANGING WINDS: SCIENTIFIC DESCRIPTION OF THE REGIONS

Arctic Region– The Cool Rooftop

Lying above 66.5° north of the Equator, the Arctic region possesses year-round ice at various places. Some of them include the vast Greenland ice sheet, ice caps at the Canadian Arctic Cordillera and the year-round ice sea near the pole in the Arctic Ocean. Due to Earth’s axial tilt, solar radiation is not as intense as it would have been elsewhere. Thus, the region has a tundra climate with brisk summers, low precipitation and long winters with paltry flora and fauna and thus a sparse human population.

As a result, warm air flows towards the Arctic and cold air flows away to other parts of the world, which defines the pattern for daily weather across the world. Moreover, the heat gain of the rest of the world gets balanced out by the heat loss in the Arctic, making it known as the ‘heat sink’ of the world.

This is consequential; with a perpetual rise in temperatures, sea ice could melt more than expected. With less sea ice, ocean water gets exposed to solar radiation, which will absorb more heat and melt more of such sea ice. Not only that, thawing of permafrost has resulted in the generation of greenhouse gases, further exacerbating the climate change risk.

However, researchers, even after studying the region, remain in the dark about the mysteries it holds. Some of them have postulated that positive feedback can arise. For example, thawing of permafrost could make conducive conditions for flora to thrive, which could thus absorb more carbon dioxide. Nevertheless, whether such positive feedback could outweigh negative feedback is yet to be ascertained.

Hindu Kush Himalayas– Nursery of Humanity

While the Arctic has garnered the due attention from the international community, its lesser-known sibling, nestled between Russia and the Indian subcontinent, crowned with a bounty of geological features, still yearns for it.

Approximately 5000 kilometres south in Central Asia, the Hindu Kush Himalayan range of mountains is referred to as the “Third Pole” due to the characteristics it shares with the two polar regions in the world, due to its high elevation.

The system of mountains has sustained multiple civilisations; some of its glaciers and water bodies are sources for major river systems in the world, such as the Ganga, Mekong, Brahmaputra, Amu Darya and Indus, to name a few, thus becoming the world’s most crucial ‘water tower’.

Not only that, it is home to 4 global biodiversity hotspots and 210 million people spanning across 8 countries. The mountains act as an effective barrier for preventing harsh polar winds from entering the Indian subcontinent, and that has made the inhabitation of a billion people possible.

However, most of them are vulnerable to poverty, food insecurity and climate change. Especially in the mountainous regions, lack of infrastructure as well as increasing pressure on its natural resources like freshwater and minerals make not only them more susceptible but also to those living downstream. A discourse has started building up on requisite policy interventions to facilitate climate action and engage local communities towards a more sustainable path to development.

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For all official and academic purposes, use the following as a citation, which follows the Chicago Manual Style.

Nidhi Soni, Devasya Mitra, Aryaveer Sharma, and Nakshatra HM

“Climate, Connectivity and Cooperation: A New Altitude in a Warming World”

THE GEOSTRATA, November 24, 2025.

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BY NIDHI SONI, DEVASYA MITRA, ARYAVEER SHARMA,

AND NAKSHATRA HM

TEAM GEOSTRATA

info@thegeostrata.com