A group of Himalayan glaciers grew six-fold during much hotter summers, when temperatures rose steeply by six degrees Celsius in Asia, baffling geologists. Most other Central Asian glaciers retreated under the same heat spell, some 9,000 years ago, but the Himalayan glaciers lengthened from one to six kilometres. A new study by Brigham Young University (BYU) geologist Summer Rupper pieces together the chain of events surrounding the unexpected glacial growth. “Stronger monsoons were thought to be responsible,” said Rupper. The story of these seemingly anomalous glaciers underscores the important distinction between the terms “climate change” and “global warming”. “Even when average temperatures are clearly rising regionally or globally, what happens in any given location depends on the exact dynamics of that place,” Rupper said. Mehr dazu hier.