The region’s tallest peaks have never been scaled by man, nor have its picturesque lakes been disturbed. It is out of respect - locals believe the mountains, lakes and glaciers are deities, to be (2) honoured and feared.
Baca Juga: Jawab Soal Materi Bahasa Inggris Kelas XII, Chapter V Assessment A No. 5-8
Yet it is the impacts of manmade global (3) emissions that is slowly destroying them nonetheless.
Rising temperatures as a result of climate change is accelerating the rate of glacial melt in Bhutan’s highlands.
In the silence of the mountain, now, danger looms - a killer that could unleash at any moment.
For some glaciers, annual retreat levels are up to 35 m, feeding (4) massive amounts of water into surrounding lakes.
The risk of these lakes collapsing - in a phenomenon known as a glacial lake outburst flood or GLOF - has the entire country on edge.
“With global warming, glaciers are (5) melting and our water resources are moving faster downstream. We call it a tsunami in the sky, that can come anytime,” said Karma Drupchu, the national director of the country’s National Center for Hydrology & Meteorology (NCHM).
“Any kind of breach will result in a huge flood coming down the stream. It will have huge consequences because more than 70 per cent of Bhutan settlements are along the river valleys ... not only loss of life, but huge economic (6) loss,” he said.
Analysis by NCHM has identified 2674 glacial lakes, of which 17 are categorised as potentially (7) dangerous.
Further accelerated melting of the country’s 700 individual glaciers means more lakes are being formed and the dangers for the country’s population and infrastructure is increasing.
Baca Juga: Jawab Soal Materi Bahasa Inggris Kelas XII, Chapter V Activity 10
The brunt of climate change has arrived regardless of this small nation’s resistance. For Prime Minister Lotay Tshering, the impact on glaciers is both a (8) physical and spiritual burden for Bhutan to carry.
“It concerns us a lot because from a spiritual point of view, it’s not just a pool of water. Spiritually, we believe that there is life in it, we respect that and environmentally it is a fact that we are losing our glaciers to global warming,” he told CNA in an exclusive (9) interview.
“We’re under constant threat and that is the most unfair part.”
He added: “Glaciers that are lost, are lost forever. How many lives, not just human beings, but other lives are dependent on that?
Not just the country and the economy but the whole lifecycle will be (10) destroyed. But soon in coming generations there may not be any lakes to burst. That would be a real disaster”.
Nah, itulah pembahasan soal materi bahasa Inggris kelas XII pada buku PR Interaktif materi News of the Day, Adjarian.