Heatwaves across Asia are underscoring the immediate and severe impact of climate change. My country India is grappling with record-breaking temperatures, with some parts of northern India exceeding 50 degrees Celsius. China is also bracing for an unusually hot summer, which follows 2022’s worst heatwave on record with abnormally high temperatures lasting over 70 days.

This extreme weather coincides with alarming findings from the annual Snow Update Report by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD). The report shows snow levels are almost a fifth below normal in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region this year, with experts advising water officials to initiate drought management and pre-emptive emergency water supply strategies.

The disastrous impact of climate change is seen first on mountains, and this puts downstream countries on the frontline of the crisis, particularly the eight that make up the Hindu Kush Himalaya – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal and Pakistan – which encompasses the highest mountain ranges in the world.

The Hindu Kush Himalaya, known as the world’s “water tower”, is a single ecological unit, divided by political boundaries but unified by natural assets such as mountains, rivers and biodiversity. Importantly, it is the source of 10 large Asian river systems – the Amu Darya, Indus, Ganges, Brahmaputra, Irrawaddy, Salween, Mekong, Yangtze, Yellow River and Tarim – serving two billion people.

Protecting these assets, such as by slowing glacier melt, is therefore critically important – but impossible without regional collaboration.

Another recent ICIMOD study confirms the region is undergoing unprecedented, and likely to be irreversible, change. Glaciers are melting at an alarming rate, and based on current projections, scientists predict that two-thirds may disappear by the end of the century. The 79 glaciers that surround Mount Everest, for example, have thinned by over 100m in just six decades, and the rate of thinning has nearly doubled since 2009.

Regional collaboration is imperative in dealing with this crisis. Natural disasters caused by climate change are increasing in frequency and intensity, and disproportionately affect populations suffering from poverty and deprivation. National boundaries cannot protect the countries of the Hindu Kush Himalaya from these, irrespective of where events may have originated.

If deforestation takes place in the upper reaches of the mountain ranges, the rivers which flow across several countries will be affected through higher siltation and increased run-off. Glacier melt affects not only the countries near the mountains but also the densely populated Indo-Gangetic Plain.

Moreover, natural disasters such as flooding or extended warm weather are often followed by the spread of water or airborne diseases.

Countries in South Asia previously made efforts to present a common position on climate change, at the Cop16 UN climate conference in 2010. Countries from the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) had adopted an action plan for climate change, which listed several measures to deal with the challenge. Despite this initial promise, many agreed measures remain unimplemented.

Nevertheless, initiatives such as adaptation research centres and regional technology innovation networks show a willingness to address shared challenges. Revitalising this collaborative spirit is more crucial than ever.

Net zero, the carbon ambition consuming the world’s attention, is at best a naive hope, and at worst, a clever deflection. Net zero by 2050 does not mean zero emissions by that date. It means that in 2050 whatever emissions are being generated are matched by expanded natural carbon sinks, like forests and oceans, and the technological solutions that enable carbon to be sucked out of the atmosphere on a large scale, efficiently and economically.

Net zero therefore is a balance sheet concept that hides the uncertainties and even improbabilities of climate action. The largest natural carbon sinks are our forests and our oceans, both of which are being destroyed by rampant deforestation and waste dumping.

I do not see how in the next 25 years this will be reversed. Some countries in the region are doing all they can to reduce the impact of climate change. For example, Bhutan is the world’s first “carbon negative” country, and conserving its rich forest lands is a feat for which it should be lauded. Others in our region should follow Bhutan’s example, otherwise these efforts will be for nothing.

Political boundaries, territorial disputes and mutual suspicions are hindering regional cooperation. National security concerns often restrict vital data-sharing on water-induced disasters and glacial flood outbursts. But sharing such data can save lives and enhance regional cooperation.

Leaders and citizens must recognise that the fallout from the ecological crisis will far eclipse many of the divisive issues which currently demand our attention, while regional collaboration can yield significant environmental and economic benefits.

The region’s ecological challenges necessitate an urgent call for regional collaboration. By working together, sharing knowledge and empowering institutions such as ICIMOD, countries can tackle climate change, protect shared natural assets and ensure a sustainable future for all. Embracing a unified approach to these transboundary issues is not just beneficial but essential for the region’s survival and prosperity.