Last chance to see: Disappearing glaciers in the 'Mountains of the Moon'

By Daisy Carrington, for CNN

Updated 1054 GMT (1854 HKT) April 3, 2014

The glaciers of the Rwenzori Mountains in Uganda used to make for an impressive sight. Now, experts think they will disappear in the next 10 to 15 years.
Photos: Last chance to see: Disappearing glaciers in the 'Mountains of the Moon'
Disappearing glaciers – The glaciers of the Rwenzori Mountains in Uganda used to make for an impressive sight. Now, experts think they will disappear in the next 10 to 15 years.
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The Rwenzori glaciers occur on just three of the range's peaks: Mounts Stanley, Speke and Baker. The area of the glaciers is believed to have shrunk from around 2.7 square miles in 1906 to less than 0.4 square miles today.
Photos: Last chance to see: Disappearing glaciers in the 'Mountains of the Moon'
Disappearing glaciers – The Rwenzori glaciers occur on just three of the range's peaks: Mounts Stanley, Speke and Baker. The area of the glaciers is believed to have shrunk from around 2.7 square miles in 1906 to less than 0.4 square miles today.
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The Ruwenzori range, known as the "Mountains of the Moon," straddle the border of Uganda and DR Congo. They are home to many rare plant species.
Photos: Last chance to see: Disappearing glaciers in the 'Mountains of the Moon'
Disappearing glaciers – The Ruwenzori range, known as the "Mountains of the Moon," straddle the border of Uganda and DR Congo. They are home to many rare plant species.
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Perpetual clouds over Rwenzori make it hard to measure changes to the glaciers by satellite photography. That means expeditions to the range are crucial for monitoring glacier recession.
Photos: Last chance to see: Disappearing glaciers in the 'Mountains of the Moon'
Disappearing glaciers – Perpetual clouds over Rwenzori make it hard to measure changes to the glaciers by satellite photography. That means expeditions to the range are crucial for monitoring glacier recession.
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Richard Taylor, a geology professor at University College London, says the receding glaciers indicate a rise in temperature in the region, bringing longer droughts and more intense floods.
Photos: Last chance to see: Disappearing glaciers in the 'Mountains of the Moon'
Disappearing glaciers – Richard Taylor, a geology professor at University College London, says the receding glaciers indicate a rise in temperature in the region, bringing longer droughts and more intense floods.
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The vanishing glaciers are also affecting the region's tourism industry. Some locals act as guides for visitors, and there are fears that fewer will visit without the attraction of the glaciers.
Photos: Last chance to see: Disappearing glaciers in the 'Mountains of the Moon'
Disappearing glaciers – The vanishing glaciers are also affecting the region's tourism industry. Some locals act as guides for visitors, and there are fears that fewer will visit without the attraction of the glaciers.
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From left to right, Sheila Ruyondo, Luc Hardy and Richard Atugonza, who recently finished an expedition to the Rwenzori Mountains to research its receding glaciers.
Photos: Last chance to see: Disappearing glaciers in the 'Mountains of the Moon'
Disappearing glaciers – From left to right, Sheila Ruyondo, Luc Hardy and Richard Atugonza, who recently finished an expedition to the Rwenzori Mountains to research its receding glaciers.
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Mount Stanley is 5,109 meters (16,763 feet) at its peak, making it the third highest mountain in Africa, after Mount Kenya and Kilimanjaro.
Photos: Last chance to see: Disappearing glaciers in the 'Mountains of the Moon'
Disappearing glaciers – Mount Stanley is 5,109 meters (16,763 feet) at its peak, making it the third highest mountain in Africa, after Mount Kenya and Kilimanjaro.
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Uganda Rwenzori Mountains shrinking glaciersrwenzori mountains mount stanleyrwenzori mountains 1rwenzori mountains climbersUganda Rwenzori Mountains river glacierUganda Rwenzori Mountains communities livestockUganda Rwenzori Mountains glacier expedition teamrwenzori mountains margherita peak

Story highlights

  • Uganda's Rwenzori Mountains have been described as the 'Alps of Africa'
  • Experts predict the range's once sizable glaciers will soon vanish
  • That could mean less income for locals from tourism
Africa is not a continent one immediately associates with ice. Historically, however, there have been three mountains that, until recently, could proudly boast some of the world's most majestic glaciers: Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Mount Kenya, and the Rwenzori Mountains bordering Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Rwenzori has been dubbed the "African Alps," the "Mountains of the Moon" and the "snowy source of the Nile" (the latter two descriptors were ascribed in 150 A.D. by noted astrologer and geographer Claudius Ptolemy). Much has been written about their snow-capped peaks, but a recent expedition has found that the glaciers that have for centuries captured imaginations will soon be history.
"Unfortunately, I think it's too late for Rwenzori," laments Luc Hardy, an explorer and founder of Pax Arctica.
"It's not like there's a specific local cause that you could act on. It's pretty much all of us, all over the world, creating C02 in the air."
Hardy recently led a two-week expedition to Rwenzori in conjunction with Uganda's Makerere University Mountain Resource Center, Green Cross International and the World Youth Parliament for Water. His team set out to research the extent of the glaciers' recession, and the impact it might have on the surrounding communities.
He isn't the only one concerned by the glaciers' demise.
"My guess is by 2030, there won't be any ice left on the mountain," says Richard Taylor, a geology professor at University College London. The glaciers, which had a combined area of around 2.7 square miles at the start of the 20th century, now occupy less than 0.4 square miles. Taylor estimates that the ice is declining by roughly 0.2 square miles per decade.
"Really, you're looking at a last chance to see," he says.
Read: Africa's magnificent mountains - seven amazing climbs
Though Rwenzori doesn't get the same tourist traffic as Kilimanjaro or Mount Kenya (both of which are also suffering; Kilimanjaro has lost 84% of its ice since 1912, and two-thirds of Mount Kenya's ice cover has vanished), the modest numbers it does receive are likely to dry up with the ice.
"Many of the Bakonzo [the local tribe that live in the mountains] do depend on tourism. They pro