Andes glaciers gone in 20 years

Scientists in Peru have issued a dire warning, claiming that glaciers high in the Andes will all but disappear within two decades.
At Pastoruri glacier, water from the melting ice is forming lakes which threaten to flood the villages below.
Seventy per cent of Peru's population relies on the annual glacial melt for drinking water. When the glaciers go, their water will go too.
Peru's economic development, too, is driven by water, with 70 per cent of Peru's electricity coming from hyro-power.
Without investment in new, sustainable infrastructure, when the glaciers are gone, the lights will go out.
The Pacific coast of Peru is dry, arid and home to a growing population. Ironically, as climate change bites and the glaciers melt, water supplies will initially increase.
The government's campaign 'Agua para Todos' (water for all) promises widespread water connections, but that will inevitably increase demand.
At least twice in the last five years the villages in the high mountain valleys have had narrow escapes.
After years of haggling, the recent UN climate conference in Bali finally agreed a fund to help poor countries adapt to climate change.
There are many places in the world where the poor are threatened by global warming. There are few, like Peru, where the threat is so immediate.