Another new tarkaari we started eating is called iskus, but I’m not sure what the English name is because I’ve never seen it in America. It’s very tasty, but a bit slimy under its thin peel. After peeling it, I was very surprised to find that the slime dried out my hands! They were looking a bit pruny. To give you another nature announcement, this week we learned about the effect of recent climate change on the mountain areas! There are a few pros and cons to the area heating up. One good thing for the villagers is that more types of crops can now be grown at a higher altitude, so they can grow more of their own food. One of the bad things is that glaciers are rapidly melting, which is causing glacial mountain lakes to form and expand at the same rate. These lakes pose a large threat to the communities below because any small avalanche or rock slide into the lake will cause it to burst and flood the areas below. The glacial melt is causing other problems, too. Typically during the dry season, the sun slowly melts the glaciers, which allows the rivers to stay flowing in the absence of rain. If there are no glaciers to melt, though, the rivers may dry up, and those communities that depend on the rivers to flow may experience a drought in the coming years.
