The ice stupas of Ladakh: solving water crisis in the high desert of Himalaya

An ingenious idea to build artificial glaciers at lower altitudes using pipes, gravity and night temperatures could transform an arid landscape into an oasis

The idea crystallised in his mind one morning as Sonam Wangchuk was crossing a bridge in the Indian Himalayas.

The engineer from Ladakh, in the Jammu region of north India, was already a famous problem solver: a Bollywood film loosely based on his life had grossed a billion rupees in its first four days.