Snow that lasted centuries is almost gone

Papua's Sudirman Range, just north of Australia near the equator, has been topped with permanent ice for centuries. Now nearly all the snow has vanished from its four major peaks.

Glaciers have shrunk dramatically in a century

A hundred years ago, the three hundred kilometre stretch of the Sudirman Range had snow and permanent ice on all four major peaks. Glacier cover has shrunk from nearly nineteen hundred hectares in the nineteenth century to about sixteen hectares today.

The snow will vanish in one to two years

Only small areas around Puncak Jaya, also known as Carstensz Pyramid, still have any snow at all. These remaining patches are expected to entirely disappear in a year or two.

Scientists are racing to study vanishing ice

Marie Šabacká, a Czech glacier ecologist, travelled to Puncak Jaya in March to study Papua's tropical glaciers before they disappear. Ice cores from the slopes preserve a record of climate history and atmospheric conditions in the region.

“There is a profound unfairness in this.”

Warming atmosphere is melting the ice

The retreat of Papua's glaciers is driven by a warming atmosphere caused by human activity, including burning fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas. As temperatures rise, the freezing point moves higher up mountains, so more precipitation falls as rain instead of snow.

The mountain is sacred to Indigenous peoples

At least five groups of Indigenous people have had strong spiritual ties to Puncak Jaya for generations. The Amungme people call it Nemangkawi, the White Arrow, symbolising honesty, purity and moral integrity in their traditional beliefs.

Indigenous activist compares loss to destroying Mecca

Amungme environmental activist Adolfina Kum stresses how important the peak is to her people. She says the melting ice threatens traditions and cultural foundations that have anchored her community for generations.

“How would Muslims feel if Mecca were destroyed? How would Catholics feel if Rome or the Vatican were destroyed? For the Amungme people, that is what it feels like when Nemangkawi is destroyed.”

Mining has reshaped the landscape for a century

The discovery of vast copper and gold deposits transformed Papua during the twentieth century. Entire mountain faces have been excavated and roads, industrial infrastructure and settlements have transformed surrounding valleys, while some Indigenous people have lost access to ancestral lands.

Glacial ice has receded ninety five percent since early 2000s

Danish researcher Klaus Thymann and his team used drones and three dimensional mapping to document what remains. From the early two thousands to twenty twenty five, the glaciated area has receded by ninety five percent, leaving almost no ice left.

“There's almost no ice left. Those are the facts.”

Losing sacred mountains severs cultural roots

Adolfina Kum believes communities lose an important source of strength when sacred mountains are disturbed. She describes it as pulling out the roots of a tree: once removed, the tree loses its foundation and cannot stand.

“I often describe it as pulling out the roots of a tree. Once the roots are removed, the tree loses its foundation.”