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Two granite memorials bearing messages from acclaimed authors Manjushree Thapa and Andri Snær Magnason will be unveiled on May 12, 2025 at the rapidly retreating Yala Glacier in Nepal’s Langtang Valley, in a poignant tribute to one of the Himalaya’s most studied and endangered glaciers.
The ceremony, set to take place at an altitude of over 5,000 metres, will bring together scientists, monks, villagers, and government officials, stated a press note by International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD). It will begin with a Buddhist prayer led by local monks, followed by speeches from glaciologists and central government representatives. Attendees will then tour the glacier site, viewing photographic comparisons that starkly illustrate the glacier’s retreat from 1974 to the present.
Yala Glacier, long used to train Nepal’s glaciologists due to its accessibility, is forecast to vanish by 2040. Its memorial plaques, carved into local Nepali granite, bear inscriptions in English, Nepali and the locally spoken Tibetan language. The text includes a reading of current atmospheric carbon dioxide levels and Magnason’s haunting words: “We know what is happening and what needs to be done. Only you know if we did it.”
This will mark the third global glacier to bear Magnason’s climate message, following memorials for Iceland’s OK Glacier in 2019 and Mexico’s Ayoloco Glacier in 2021.
The tribute forms part of Nepal’s contributions to the United Nations’ International Year for Glaciers’ Preservation 2025. It also coincides with the lead-up to the Sagarmatha Sambaad summit, where glacier loss and its consequences for food, water and energy security are set to dominate discussions.
A community gathering was held on May 9 in the nearby village of Mundu, offering local residents and scientists an opportunity to share knowledge and personal stories of change in the region.
Experts from the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, Tribhuvan University and Kathmandu University are expected to attend the event, underscoring Yala’s significance both as a research site and a symbol of the accelerating climate crisis in the Hindu Kush Himalaya.