A typical statement that I’ve seen used in the media is that the Himalayan glaciers will vanish by 2035, and that about 1.5 billion people will be affected by lack of water as a result. It is true that if the Himalayan glaciers melt, people will be affected, but not necessarily the ones being referred to, nor in the way they’re currently saying. As the glaciers melt, the major problem won’t be lack of water. The problem will be induced by soil saturation and slope failure as the ground is exposed. There will be volumes of water released onto slopes which before had been protected by solid sheets of ice. The underlying soil may be made of rocks and sand without binding clay, and may be mobilized by the melt water, causing landslides.