Kate Middleton says she is 'impressed by Prince William's geography' as royal couple visit glacier in Pakistan

‘I hope to learn what more we all can do to help prevent and mitigate this impending global catastrophe’

(Getty Images)

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge visited a glacier impacted by global warming on the third day of their royal tour in Pakistan.

The duke and duchess learnt about how climate change is affecting glaciers while visiting the Hindu Kush mountain range, which is located in the Chitral district of Pakistan’s Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.

This marked the first time Prince William and Catherine have seen a melting glacier in real life, as the royal couple overlooked the northern tip of the Chiatibo Glacier in Broghil National Park.

The couple arrived at the remote location in the Chitral district by helicopter.

While accompanied by glacier expert Dr Furrukh Bashir, of the Pakistan Meteorological Department, the duke said that communities who are "vulnerable to change" need "more education, more awareness and political action".

"The young are starting to get engaged in it," the duke said, adding that a "positive conversation" around climate change is needed.

The royal also spoke about his school geography teacher Dr Warren, saying that he believes the educator would be "well impressed" he's visiting a glacier "after all these years".

"I've been very impressed by William's geography," the duchess added.

The glaciers in the Hindu Kush mountain range provide water for approximately 1.6 billion people.

While there are more than 5,000 reasonable-sized glaciers in the area, nearly 70 per cent of them are retreating, said Dr Bashir.

On Tuesday evening, the duke spoke at a reception at the Pakistan Monument, a national monument and heritage museum, about the impact climate change is having on the communities living close to glaciers in Pakistan.

“Tomorrow we will be seeing some of these impacts first hand and meeting some of the communities adjusting to the new realities and new challenges that climate change has brought to their towns and villages,” Prince William said.

“I hope to learn what more we all can do to help prevent and mitigate this impending global catastrophe.”

On the third day of their royal tour, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will also visit a village in a valley of the Chitral district.

In recent years, communities living in the area have had to cope with flash flooding caused by the melting of the nearby glaciers.

While in the Chitral valley, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are scheduled to a visit a site that sustained damage due to severe floods in 2015.

They will meet members of the local community and hear what measures they have taken in an effort to cope with the effects of climate change.

The royal couple will also watch a drill being conducted by volunteers from the local emergency response team.

The implementation of the drill by the team, who are supported by UK aid, helped save lives during the flooding of 2015.

The Dukes and Duchesses of Cambridge and Sussex recently teamed up to voice a new mental health television advert.

The short film, which highlights the Every Mind Matters campaign, was broadcast simultaneously across several television channels as part of a “national takeover”.

Every Mind Matters is an initiative that has been launched by Public Health England (PHE) and the NHS to encourage people to become more aware of the early symptoms of mental health issues.