The Jayawijaya Mountains have an area covered in snow, namely Puncak Jaya or Carstensz Pyramid. The snow is said to be eternal snow. These mountains are located in Papua Province, stretching to the country of Papua New Guinea on the island of Irian. The Jayawijaya Mountains are the highest in Indonesia, with an altitude of 4,884 meters above sea level (masl).
The location attracts tourists and scientists to conduct research. Because the peak is always covered with snow even though the mountain is in the tropics, the Puncak Jaya glacier is increasingly melting from year to year and is predicted to disappear.
The Facts About Puncak Jaya Glacier
Still much more information that you should know about this. If you are curious about this, you need to know the facts about the Rapidly Melting Puncak Jaya. Let’s check these articles below.
It Has A Lot of Impacts
The melting of ice on the Puncak Jaya certainly has an impact. It contributes to an increase in sea level (sea level rise), although it may not be significant because the ice area is not too large. Another impact, culturally, is that there are local tribes around Puncak Jaya who consider Puncak Jaya’s ice as a sacred place.
The loss of ice will have an impact on the local tribe. This ice melting will be felt around the Puncak Jaya area. Such as the possibility of triggering sea level rise in the sea area. In addition, the life of flora and fauna around Puncak Jaya’s ice is also affected.
The Ice Keeps Melting
In 2002, the Puncak Jaya glacier’s ice area decreased to 2 square kilometers. Then it became 1.8 square km in 2005, 0.6 square km in 2015, 0.46 square km in March 2018, and 0.34 square km in May 2020.
The first measurement of ice thickness was carried out by the BMKG team in collaboration with The Ohio State University (USA) in 2010 with 32 meters of thick ice. Then 27 meters in 2015, 22 meters in 2016 (due to a strong EL Nino), and 8 meters in 2021.
It is Predicted to Disappear in 2025
The Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) predicts that the ice on Puncak Jaya Wijaya, Papua, will melt and disappear in 2025. This phenomenon is the impact of climate change. It is expected to disappear in 2025.
Currently, the condition of the ice area in Puncak Jaya Wijaya is only 1 percent. From 200 Km³ (cubic) to 2 Km³. In addition to indicating ice melting on Puncak Jaya Wijaya, we see climate change from the increasing temperature.
Classified as Unique
The snow at the top of the Jayawijaya Mountains is unique. Because, usually there is snow in the region of four seasons, namely winter, autumn, summer, and spring. However, Carstensz Pyramid is covered in snow even though this location is in an equatorial region with two seasons.
This happens because the peaks of the Jayawijaya Mountains are relatively high, 4,884 meters above sea level. This is so amazing, right?
The mountain peaks’ height causes the peak’s temperature to be freezing. The air temperature will decrease by 1 degree for every 100 meters of altitude. With a mountain altitude of 4,884, the temperature at Puncak Jayawijaya will drop around 49 degrees Celsius from sea level temperatures.
That’s the rapidly melting Puncak Jaya Glacier that you need to know. Apart from Puncak Jaya, no other mountain in Indonesia has ice. There are many climbers from abroad climbing Carstensz Pyramid. Another information you should know, they usually rise from September to November.
