 The Himalayas and other mountain chains of central Asia support large glaciated regions . An estimated 15 @,@ 000 glaciers can be found in the greater Himalayas , with double that number in the Hindu Kush and Karakoram and Tien Shan ranges , and comprise the largest glaciated region outside the poles . These glaciers provide critical water supplies to arid countries such as Mongolia , western China , Pakistan , Afghanistan and India . As with glaciers worldwide , those of the greater Himalayan region are experiencing a decline in mass , and researchers claim that between the early 1970s and early 2000s , there had been a 9 percent reduction in ice mass . Change in temperature has led to melting and the formation and expansion of glacial lakes which could cause an increase in the number of glacial lake outburst floods ( GLOFs ) . If the present trends persist the ice mass will gradually be reduced , and will affect the availability of water resources , though water loss is not expected to cause problems for many decades . 
