Prof. John Pomeroy is a globally renowned expert and scientist in hydrology and climate science and serves as the primary chairperson of the UNESCO Chair in Mountain Water Sustainability. He is the Director of the International Network for Alpine Research Catchment Hydrology (INARCH), Global Water Future, and Centre for Hydrology. He is co-chair of the UN advisory board for the International Year of Glacier Preservation 2025. He has also initiated the UN Decade of Action for Cryospheric Sciences, 2025-2034 and many other notable contributions.

Bal Krishna Sah of The Himalayan Times sat down with Professor John while he was in Nepal on various topics, including climate change and global politics around it. Excerpts:

THT: What brought you to Nepal?

John: I came here to work on a scientific collaboration with Small Earth Nepal and Tribhuvan University. I met with students and co-supervised a student with Dhiraj Pradhananga, who defended his thesis at Tribhuvan University's Institute of Engineering. I also gave a seminar at ICIMOD, the International Year for Glacier Preservation, and then worked on bringing another Nepali student to Canada for an exchange programme who is studying snow-to-rain transitions in mountains. It is happening everywhere, including here. That was the basis for the visit. It is part of a long-standing collaboration known as the UNESCO Chair in Mountain Water Sustainability. It is a chair created by UNESCO. It has a chair programme, which is led by Canada, Nepal, and Chile and focuses on the sustainability of high mountain waters.

THT: Why just Canada, Nepal, and Chile?

John: We all have high mountains, and fresh water from these mountains is an important part of our ecology and economy, and the goal was to strengthen collaborations among the three countries.

It is already having an impact on student training, as well as strengthening research projects and ensuring that the research projects we have do not only provide scientific answers but also solutions developed in collaboration with local communities. And while I cannot develop it with the local community in Nepal, Small Earth Nepal can. So working with them allows us to do something practical for both the high mountain communities and the larger communities downstream.

THT: What do the International Year for Glaciers' Preservation (IYGP) and the start of the Decade of Action on Cryospheric Sciences mean to the world?

John: The international year for glacier preservation is an opportunity to highlight the critical role of mountain glaciers and snow packs in providing fresh water for billions of people worldwide, in supporting the mountain ecosystem and nature in the mountains, and in governing the world's climate system and controlling sea level rise, among other things.

With rapid climate change, we face the destruction of the world's glaciers and massive reductions in snowpacks all over the world, and this is an opportunity to highlight the issues that are resulting from this destruction. And to work with governments around the world to encourage them to start reducing greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere.

Carbon dioxide, methane, and other gases are produced by the combustion of fuel and vehicles, as well as by agricultural practices such as crop and forest fires. However, some countries produce significantly more greenhouse gases than others.

THT: What are your impressions of superpowers, such as the United States, India, and China, being among the largest emitters?

John: We have had discussions with each of them and are working to reach a more solid conclusion. It's very difficult, but it's a journey. It is, of course, difficult at times, but there are also things that a small country like Nepal can accomplish. For example, while burning fuels in cities such as Kathmandu pollutes the air, burning biomass in the countryside emits black carbon into the atmosphere, which deposits on glaciers. And our student, who we supervise here, demonstrated that this significantly accelerates glacial melting. If Nepal takes steps to protect glaciers by reducing black carbon emissions, the Himalayas will last longer. That is a direct local benefit of taking action.

THT: How do you think electric vehicles can help combat climate change?

John: Countries with higher levels of electrification experience greater reductions in emissions, though this varies depending on how the electricity is generated. For example, in Nepal, burning coal to generate electricity and then charging an electric car provides no benefit because coal is a very bad fuel. If you generate electricity using hydroelectricity, solar power, wind power, or nuclear power, there will be no carbon emissions. Because it is so small, using electric transportation has an advantage.

THT: How serious is climate change from a global economic and political standpoint? And how do you justify this?

John: It's the most serious problem facing humanity right now. It is possibly the most serious issue confronting humanity during our existence.

Climate change will make some parts of the planet uninhabitable. either due to excessive heat or a lack of water. It means the collapse of agriculture and even industry, followed by sea level rise from melting glaciers and ice caps around the world, which could raise sea levels two to three meters over the next century, causing flooding. Bangladesh would no longer exist. Most of it would be submerged.

Places such as Florida are mostly underwater. Most major cities around the world or on the coast would be submerged, so humanity is facing an existential crisis that we are not recognising, and we are on the verge of complete disaster.

THT: Why aren't top leaders focusing on this?

John: When you have such a large problem in front of you, it is best to look away, which is what most people do; it is difficult mentally to process. For example, many parts of India will be so hot on a regular basis that people will die on the streets; this is already happening to some extent and will continue to occur.

THT: How does the United States' stance on climate change affect the planet?

John: It puts the planet in a terrible situation because the United States has been a leader in science and research, and it was rapidly reducing its emissions. Trump is now halting scientific research and wind power. He wants more oil drilling. The United States drills and burns more oil than any other country on the planet, and he intends to increase this, threatening billions of people around the world. It is one of the worst things he is doing.

THT: What are the other worst things Trump is doing to worsen climate change?

John: He is laying off thousands of scientists who work for the National Weather Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA). He is cancelling all climate research programmes. He halted US contributions to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. He has halted the development of alternative and renewable energy while promoting the development of fossil fuel energy. He is actively working to accelerate climate change. It is as if he is a destroyer, wanting to destroy things as soon as possible.

THT: How can the world change his mind?

John: If you're thinking about a sane, reasonable person, he's not. Attempting to change his mind is a waste of time. What the rest of the world needs to do is organise itself better and move forward without the United States. That is what we need to do now. I hope that the United States will eventually come to its senses, that a new leader will emerge, and that they will return to being constructive. But for now, they're not constructive.

THT: What are your perspectives on climate justice and finances?

John: Yes, I am aware that Canada led the discussions on payments to less developed countries to help them with climate change adaptation and mitigation. Many countries pledged to transition to clean energy. The promises were inadequate and have not been kept; many of them came from the United States, and none of them will be kept now.

Another aspect of the disaster is that countries like Nepal, which did not cause climate change, will bear the brunt of its consequences. As Nepal loses its Himalayan glaciers, its snowpacks will experience more unreliable water supply, longer droughts, stronger heat waves, crop failures, and then floods as glacier lakes burst and rain on snow floods occur in the mountains. It is not fair or decent, but that is what is occurring. Again, the rest of the world must step up and fill the void created by the United States' abdication of its responsibilities.

This is a chance for India and China to take on leadership in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and also in reparations to poorer countries. Both India and China are richer than Nepal, and both have rapidly industrialised. Recently, both have benefitted from the burning of coal, oil, and gas, and they should assist countries like Nepal in adapting.

THT: What sort of communication does the science community usually have regarding climate change, GLOF, rising floods, and other incidents?

John: As scientists, our primary goal is to discover, and our discussions typically centre on how to prevent and better measure these disasters. We need more accurate weather, water, snow, and ice measurements in the mountains at high elevations. This is extremely difficult to do. We need better prediction and early warning systems so that communities can be alerted when a drought or flood is imminent. We need to be able to predict future water availability so that communities, agricultural regions, and entire countries can plan in a sustainable manner.

THT: What are the most effective ways to mitigate climate challenges?

John: First, cut greenhouse gas emissions. That is always the first step; it is the root of everything; everything else is just a band-aid. It is not curing the disease; it is just making it easier to get through, but it will still be bad, so having better high-altitude weather, snow, ice, and water monitoring, as well as more stations, is extremely beneficial to Nepal.

These stations provide extremely valuable downstream predictions of changing water or early warning of floods and droughts. Prediction systems are typically computer models that can handle flood forecasts, drought forecasts, or long-term predictions of changes in water availability. However, this must be integrated into society through government systems that communicate information to communities and individuals. Some countries have phone apps that warn you about impending flooding. However, each community must also be heavily organised to disseminate information as soon as it becomes available.

Finally, solutions for communities are very specific to the community and the culture, and they must be developed collaboratively by the communities, government, and science, as these communities have a wealth of knowledge about water management and natural disaster preparedness. They have to be-local knowledge must be used to find these solutions. It will only work if the local knowledge is included in the solution.

THT: How are you planning to further proceed with the UNESCO Chair in Mountain Water Sustainability?

John: More research is required to better understand mountain snow and ice systems, as well as water systems and how they are changing. We need to understand how to best collaborate with communities to find solutions that work for them. We must continue to raise awareness of the dangers and disasters that the world is currently facing, not only among national governments but also among individual citizens.

Because governments will act if the public demands it. So, I believe we need to communicate directly with the people, as the climate crisis has been well understood for the past 35 years. And after 30 years of COPs, nothing-not much, not enough-has happened. We are still emitting greenhouse gases. We still do not have enough funds to transfer to countries such as Nepal. I think it is a failure. Thus, we must go beyond that and become much more effective, which requires a revolution in people's thinking around the world to recognise that we must change and change now and that this is fundamental to our existence.

THT: Could you please share about the new microwave satellite that Canada is launching for mountain snow packs and how does that help?

John: Canada is conducting research to develop a potential new satellite for measuring snowmass in the mountains. If this design works and there is enough money to build and launch it, it could be extremely useful for measuring mountain snow patterns all over the world. And if we know the snow, we can also help others understand the conditions.

However, we can much more accurately predict water supply for the following spring and summer. I hope this goes forward. Nothing is guaranteed, but research is currently underway in Canada at my research site to develop the appropriate sensors for this measurement.