Rwenzori Mountains, Uganda
Published on: 19/03/2025
The theme of this year’s World Water Day is glacier preservation. Initially, we at IRC thought there was little to highlight from our programmes in Asia and Africa. However, melting glaciers, even in Africa, have a profound impact on communities and their water supplies.
The Rwenzori Mountains, also known as the "Mountains of the Moon," hold a significant mystical and spiritual place in the culture of the Bakonzo people and other indigenous groups. These mountains are believed to be the dwelling places of gods and spirits. Forming a majestic border between Congo and Uganda, the Rwenzori Mountains were not considered a real threat to the local farming communities in the Mid-Western Districts of Kasese, Bundibugyo, and Kabarole for decades.
However, this perception has changed in recent times. In 2020 alone, flooding in Kasese district affected 173,000 people and destroyed 25,000 houses. Many of those rendered homeless by the floods continue to live in temporary housing camps five years later. The most recent floods also affected the rivers Nyamugasani, Mubuku, and Lhubiriha, causing damage to local infrastructure, livelihoods, massive displacement of people, and claiming the lives of at least six people in Kasese District.
The causes of these floods are linked to glacial melt in the Rwenzori ranges. Climate variability has been consistently identified as the most significant factor contributing to the melting of glaciers on the Rwenzori and the resulting impact of flooding (Hinzmann et al). The melting has led to the formation of over 35 glacier lakes that can eventually break and cause flash floods downstream.
Until the floods, the receding glaciers on Mountain Rwenzori had not been frequently studied compared to other East African glacierized mountains like Mount Kenya and Kilimanjaro. Current satellite image analysis shows the glacier is just 0.38 km², and the glaciers are expected to disappear from the Rwenzori Mountains within the next two decades.
Studies by Uganda’s Ministry of Water and Environment following the devastating flood of May 2020 concluded that flooding in the Rwenzori Mountain ranges has been aggravated by the receding snowline, which has led to water volume build-up in various water reservoirs (lakes and bogs in the Alpine and Heather Zones) before the onset of the rainy season in the region.
The economic and social disruptions caused by flooding linked to the melting of glaciers have been studied too little. InfoNile links these changes to species disappearing, changes in livelihoods, and highlights the fragility of water sources. The Ugandan water atlas shows a 57% access rate in Kasese, with over 130,000 people depending on springs. Changing runoff and rainfall patterns often affect the river baseflow and springs. This phenomenon occurs on a much larger scale in the Ganges area (Ranjeev et al. 2025), where nearly a billion people depend on reliable runoff from the Himalaya glaciers.
Such examples highlight that glaciers are particularly valuable indicators of climate variability and climate change, justifying the focus of World Water Day 2025. The glaciers of Africa may be disappearing, and the consequences of this are affecting entire populations in the catchment areas. A World Water Day webinar titled “Preserving Glaciers for a Sustainable Africa” (organized by UNEP and Wetlands International on Friday, the 21st of March, 12:00 to 13h30 EAT-Nairobi time) will increase awareness of Africa’s unique glacier preservation challenges, provide policy recommendations to strengthen continental and national climate adaptation strategies, and call for integrating glacier preservation into Africa’s broader water and environmental policies.
This blog was co-authored by Martin Watsisi and Arjen Naafs. Co-pilot was used to adapt the writing style.
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