Itanagar/Guwahati, Feb. 19 -- Researchers from Nagaland University and Guwahati's Cotton University have documented significant glacier retreat in Arunachal Pradesh over the past three decades, experts said on Wednesday.

The Himalayas, often called the 'Third Pole', contain the largest concentration of glaciers outside the Polar Regions.

These glaciers serve as a fresh water source for more than 1.3 billion people living downstream.

Rapid glacial retreat in recent decades has raised concerns about long-term water availability and ecological imbalance.

The research was led by Latonglila Jamir of Nagaland University and Nabajit Hazarika of Cotton University with research scholars Vimha Ritse and Amenuo Susan Kulnu of Nagaland University...