Read the given passage and answer the four questions that follow:-
It's a tough time to be a glacier. Scientists expected Venezuela's Humboldt Glacier to last another decade, but in 2024 it melted into an ice field, shrinking to under two hectares. This marks the loss of the country's last glacier and signals a grim future for others. Scientists warn that glaciers in countries like Germany and Mexico will also disappear as fossil fuel consumption accelerates global warming. Communities depending on glaciers for fresh water face challenges, as glaciers in mountain ranges like the Andes provide vital drinking and irrigation water for millions of people.
However, about 80% of global glaciers, excluding polar ice sheets, could survive if countries rapidly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Tropical glaciers in regions such as the Andes, East Africa, and Indonesia, however, are unlikely to recover due to higher temperatures. Despite pledges in the 2015 Paris Agreement to limit warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, current projections suggest a rise of 3°C, potentially raising sea levels by nearly 10 feet by 2100, threatening island nations like Fiji and the Maldives with destruction.
A proposal to protect ice sheets in Antarctica and Greenland involves a 62-mile-long removable underwater curtain, but experts like James Kirkham from the International Cryosphere Initiative caution that such measures are distractions from the real issue: halting global heating. Without decisive action, glaciers will continue to melt, and more countries will lose their ice. The urgency of addressing climate change has never been clearer, and the world's glaciers can't afford any more delays.
What does the writer mean by the statement-- 'It's a tough time to be a glacier'?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Glaciers have to bear the brunt of climate change and face an appalling future.
The opening line is followed by the loss of Venezuela's last glacier, a "grim future" for others, and the warning that glaciers in Germany and Mexico will also disappear. Glaciers suffer the worst of global warming and their future looks terrible. To bear the brunt of something is to suffer the worst part of it; appalling means very bad or shocking.
Example: Coastal villages bore the brunt of the cyclone.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: Glaciers are now fast losing their status of fresh water sources. — Incorrect. Contradicted: the passage says glaciers still provide drinking and irrigation water for millions; the line is about glaciers melting away, not about a loss of status.
Option 2: Only 50% of glaciers are likely to survive with the threat of climate change looming large. — Incorrect. Contradicted: the figure in the passage is about 80%, and even that only if emissions are cut rapidly. 50% is not mentioned.
Option 4: Glaciers are unable to help humanity survive and sustain their needs. — Incorrect. Wrong focus: the line is about what is happening to glaciers, not about what glaciers can do for humanity.