Hasnain made his remark to the New Scientist in 1999, only five years after the retreat had reached its peak and only two to three years after the slowdown began – far too soon to say that the trend had changed. The IPCC’s use of his remark may have been rash, but was not misleading because in 2003-2004, the year before it finalized its fourth report, the changed trend would have been barely perceptible
哈斯南对《新科学家》杂志就喜马拉雅山冰川退化情况作出评论，是在 1999 年，当时是冰川后退速度见顶后的第五年，后退放缓迹象刚刚出现了两三年，因此，按当时的条件，远不足以判断冰川消退的趋势已有所改变。 IPCC 的第四次评估报告引用哈斯南的说法，虽可以说有点冒失，但不能说是颠倒黑白，因为在该报告最终成型的前一年，也就是 2003~2004 年的时候，改变后的新趋势仍然不容易认清。