Bhutan

LOCATED IN THE Himalayan Mountains and bordering India and China, the kingdom of Bhutan covers a land area of 18,147 sq. mi. (47,000 sq. km.), with a population of 672,400 (2005 est.), giving it a population density of 117 people per sq. mi. (45 per sq. km.). Gaining its independence in 1947, Bhutan has embarked on a program of modernization, trying [Page 120]to foster greater harmony between various ethnic groups. Being landlocked, the main effects of global warming on Bhutan will be from melting of nearby glaciers. With average temperatures in the Himalayas having risen by about one degree C since the mid-1970s, there has been a glacial retreat in Bhutan estimated at 100–130 ft. (30–40 m.) annually, with the real possibility of serious flooding ...