Kathmandu, June 20 -- US spy satellites that secretly kept watch over the Himalaya during the Cold War are helping researchers piece together the most detailed view yet of the region's accelerating ice loss.
The US military used the satellites to take thousands of photographs worldwide as part of its surveillance of the Soviet Union, China and other countries, dating as far back as the 1970s.
Now declassified, the satellite data is helping researchers track the melting of the Himalayan glaciers, and it is revealing changes across the region that scientists say are consistent with global warming. The results could help communities in Nepal, India, China, Bhutan and downstream countries that rely on those glaciers to prepare for future flo...