Evidence of Melting Snow On Mt. Kilimanjaro

Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa has lost 82 percent of its snow-topped glacier since 1912. Scientist estimate that if current trends continue, this 12,000 year old glacier on top of Kilimanjaro could be completely gone by the year 2020. It is not clear whether this melting of the snows of Kilimanjaro is a direct result of global warming or the indirect result of climate change causing less moisture in the tropics due to global warming. Which ever the cause, the melting of the snows atop Mt. Kilimanjaro indicates a dual trend of temperature rise and less moisture in the tropics. While the result is more noticeable for the glacier atop Mt. Kilimanjaro, what might be more significant on the adverse effects such warming and less moisture in the tropics could have on even larger eco-systems such as the Amazon rain forest. As the larger eco-systems are affected, this could have the feed-back result of triggering even more global warming and climate change.