Invented by Sonam Wangchuk these artificial glaciers could transform a desert landscape into an oasis. The ice stupas are a response to a known problem in the Himalayan foothills. Ladakh, in the Jammu region of north India, is a desert at 10,000 feet, receiving an average just 50mm of rainfall each year. The stupas are formed by running pipes below the frost line, at which temperature the water hovers between a liquid and solid state. Then the pipes turn skywards, spraying the water into -20 celcius air, using the bitter cold to freeze it as it falls to earth. The first prototype, stretching 20 feet high, was built in October 2013, and expected to melt by the beginning of May. It lasted eighteen days longer. A second much larger stupa was grown near a forest of 5,000 trees, and kept them watered throughout the driest months until 6 July.