In the 18th and 19th century, Britain was abuzz with cranking steam engines, rattling power looms, and clattering machines. Amidst this daily ding, the world was witnessing a defining movement in human history—the Industrial Revolution—that soon spread to the rest of Western Europe. Powered by coal, the production of most things transitioned from hand to machine, spurring a rise in population and air pollution. For the next two centuries, London became infamous for its soot and smog, which turned fatal for about 12,000 people. Now, a new study has shown that this mal air has left its trace in the lofty Himalayan glaciers, thousands of kilometres away from Europe.

Researchers from Switzerland, Germany, Austria and India have calculated the distribution of ice thickness or the volume of ice in the glaciers present across the globe.

Researchers from Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IITB), Mumbai and Indian Institute of Technology Indore (IITI), Indore have developed a novel technique to measure the ice thickness of inaccessible and data scarce glaciers.