Artificial glaciers boost water supply in northern Pakistan

This photograph taken on March 18, 2025 shows an artificial glacier built by local residents during winters to conserve water for the summers at Pari village in Kharmang district, in Pakistan's mountainous Gilgit-Baltistan region. - AFP

HUSSAINABAD: At the foot of Pakistan's impossibly high mountains whitened by frost all year round, farmers grappling with a lack of water have created their own ice towers.

Warmer winters as a result of climate change have reduced the snow fall and subsequent seasonal snowmelt that feeds the valleys of Gilgit-Baltistan, a remote region home to K2, the world's second-highest peak.