03 Jun 2021 This policy paper warns that while the alarming melting of glaciers will affect agriculture, access to drinking water directly downstream, it is also closely connected to the same drivers that are worsening the region’s air quality and changing the monsoon patterns, affecting two billion people who live in the river basins of the region. It proposes recommendations that would contribute to the urgently needed draw down of greenhouse gas emissions and reduction in emissions of short-lived climate pollutants. It also calls for improved environmental data, monitoring and research; strengthening the links between science and policy-making institutions; and enhancing dedicated international cooperation to saving the Third Pole.